Whitney

One Liner: Folky falsetto-filled indie fest
Wikipedia Genre: Indie rock, psychedelic pop
Spotify Says Similar To: Big Thief and Frankie Cosmos
Home: Chicago, IL

Poster Position: 12
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  Not much to their Spotify bio, other than one of them used to be part of Unknown Mortal Orchestra (which I think rules) and "both" of them used to be part of the Smith Westerns (which I don't know at all, and which is weird because the videos appear to show that the band has 347 members).  This is very chilled indie pop, quiet and falsetto filled, like Wilco with Jeff Buckley doing the singing.  Actually, this descriptor, grabbed from Wikipedia, is too spot-on for me to even try to figure out my own thoughts: "Paul Lester in the Guardian described the band as "think Bon Iver, with elements of folk and country, only given a Chicago soul makeover". They cite Levon Helm and Allen Toussaint as inspiration." That is the truth.
Just one album, 2016's Light Upon the Lake, that starts off with their biggest hit, the quietly lovely ode to being woman-free, called "No Woman."  10.3 million streams.

That video, man.  Skinny jeans, PBR, tossing lit cigarettes into the forest, throwing hatchets, jamming with the full band on a log cabin front porch.  I can't tell is that is my favorite video ever or if it makes me want to drown all people under 25 in a burlap sack. But damn what a pretty song.  So pretty.  One of those songs that makes me want to be driving through amazing scenery or swinging in a hammock with my woman and a slight buzz.
Their new 2017 single, maybe in response to that top album cut, is called "You've Got a Woman," and has a little more 70's soft rock/reggae feel going on ("baby, baby, baby, baby").

576k streams.  I could almost swear that video was shot out in west Texas around Alpine/Marfa, but I can find no evidence online other than what mine own eyeballs tell me.  Their second-most listened-to track is "Golden Days" with 6.7 million streams.

Yeah, that one is a good, chilled out track as well.  Got some George Harrison sounds rolling off of that guitar on there.  Although I wish that I could get those tunes without the perma-falsetto singing.  Couldn't we just use the falsetto as an accent?  It's like a book written in all italics or a taco that is 99% cilantro and 1% beef and cheese.  But those issues are pretty nitpicky when it comes down to it, I like these tunes.

Recommend?  Yes.

Allan Rayman

One Liner: Honestly hard to categorize, kind of an indie electro rap type guy?
Wikipedia Genre: Singer/Songwriter
Spotify Says Similar To: Berhana and Louis Mattrs
Home: Toronto (by way of Wyoming, apparently)

Poster Position: 17
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  This is interesting music.  It is almost rap, almost R&B, almost spoken word meditations on life.  His Wikipedia page is pretty spare, and his Spotify bio is all about how enigmatic and mysterious the guy is.  I don't know how mysterious this all is, he's just got some pretty basic beats and then he rap/sings over the top.  His live shows sound odd though, the Spotify bio says that he sings along to pre-recorded tracks and then just sits there on stage, sipping a drink while spoken messages play over the speakers.  Doesn't sound like the kind of thing to go over at a Fest, but who knows?
He has two albums, 2017's Roadhouse 01 and 2016's Hotel Allan.  According to what I've read, the new album is a concept album about this bad guy named Mr. Roadhouse.  Much of the sound on it is kind of tough, something in there reminds me of the low-down, rough-hewn sound of something that would be featured on a gritty show like the Wire or Justified. But then "13" sounds like this guy loves himself some Michael Jackson tunes.  I almost expected him to give a acha-acha-ooooh! in the midst of it.

With 1.1 million streams, that one is in the top several on the new album, but isn't the most popular one on the new disc.  That would be "Repeat," which has 2.1 million streams.

Just a tough ass song.  "I've seen worse, did awful things, Leave it on repeat," is a pretty flipping bleak message.  From the older album, his most popular three tracks are from that album, "Graceland," "Lucy the Tease," and "Tennessee."  I'll give you that last one, the champ at 5.3 million streams.

I don't know, I feel like lyrically this sounds like something that should be folk/country, like a storytelling guy on his guitar, but instead it is delivered like a rap over electro beats that are spare and brooding.  I don't know what to do with that.  Not necessarily dance music.  Not necessarily a good rap beat (but sometimes there is, like "Barry Moves").  I don't know.  If I have to make an opinion, I think it is that this is interesting, but I wouldn't probably prioritize it over other music in October.

Recommend?  Probably not.

CAPYAC

One Liner: Euro dance from a local duo
Wikipedia Genre: (no Wikipedia page, but I'd describe as electronic pop)
Spotify Says Similar To: Josh Tobias and Argonaut & Wasp
Home: Austin

Poster Position: 20
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  Oh good God.  Go read the press clippings from their website.  The "Jay Gatsby of dance parties" is painful.  They have nothing on Spotify or Wikipedia for bio information, and that website is pretty useless, but the Daily Texan did a write up on them that actually makes them sound pretty intriguing.  Custom made condoms and dragons?  Funk and dancing?  I like all of these things.  No, wait, actually I hate condoms.  But otherwise that list is pretty tight.  So, what you have here is like European chill dance thing that reminds me of being inside of a swanky store for clothing I can't afford, where I sit on some uncomfortable chair made of crystals and chrome and stare pointedly at my phone while the wife tries on clothing that she wants to like but secretly hates.

They've got the one album, 2016's Headlunge and then a 2017 EP/single called Fis.  Their top track has a bunch of listens, 677k, and is called "Speedracer."

You know, man, I always thought Disclosure was pretty tight, and this is right there in that wheelhouse of beat-centered tunes that kind of make me want to bob my head despite myself.  I kind of like it.  That video makes me feel unsettled though.  And then the second-most listened to track is called "Talk About," and they may say those two words 80 times in the tune.

I am surprisingly entertained by these songs.  Normally, tell me you've got some European inspired electro for me to hear and I'd groan and spout a platitude or three and then move on when you stopped looking, but this is kind of fun music.  OK, hold up though, I can't get behind the scary sounding aggro shit that is "11:35 at a Middle School Cafeteria," which is really their song name, which might be completely genius, because lunchtime in a middle school cafeteria is pretty horrible.

Recommend?  Maybe.

Sam Dew

One Liner: Silky-voiced electronic R&B
Wikipedia Genre: [Wikipedia just says he is a singer-songwriter, but that is not how I'd describe these tunes.  I'd go with Electronic, synth R&B]
Spotify Says Similar To: Dornik and Denitia & Sene (of course, those guys!)
Home: Chicago, IL

Poster Position: 13
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  Oh, good God, man, hurt me.  Mmmmmm-mmmm!  He's got a track on the Get Down Part II soundtrack that is a remake of the old Bill Withers' song "Use Me" that just made me fire out the white man overbite and chicken-thrust my head while I expressed myself solely with the sound of the letter "M." Gimme summo!

Of course, that first half is much better than the back half when it turns into a Radiohead freakout, but those first few minutes are salty sweet goodness.  Wikipedia says that he is most famous for writing the hook to a Wale song.  He's got a nice voice for sure.  One album to his credit, a 2015 disc called Damn Sue.  Most of the songs on there are less than 100k streams, but one of them is creeping on up towards a million at 986k.  That track is called "Lie."

Yeah, you know, his voice is really great.  But it is kind of like Sam Smith from a few years ago, if the tunes aren't that interesting to me, then a great voice or smart lyrics are going to have a hard time sticking with me.  So although tunes like "Victor" or "Air" are actually really nice, I just don't see myself coming back to this or wanting to see it done live at the fest.

Recommend?  No.

DREAMCAR

One Liner: I'm stuck in a rut of 80's music on the poster.  "Supergroup" of sorts with No Doubt and AFI members combining for maximum 80's homage.
Wikipedia Genre: New wave, alternative rock
Spotify Says Similar To: Gone is Gone and Shiny Toy Guns (I'm starting to think that Spotify just makes up band names for these "Related Artist" pages)
Home: Los Angeles, CA

Poster Position: 11
Slot: ?

Thoughts: As is obvious from my One Liner above, I need a break from the derivative works of groups that are copying the 80's new wave sound as though it were fresh today. That nostalgic stuff is clever for a few artists to go to, but when it is the go-to move for many bands in a row, it gets real old real fast.  We left that era in music for a reason.

But, this is a "supergroup" of sorts, with the lead singer from AFI - pop punk guys who came to ACL in 2014 - and the band from No Doubt - minus that kind of famous lead singer. Joined together, the guys have apparently decided that their prime influence was New Order or The Cure, and they've cranked out some power pop of 1983 for you to jam.  The top track by a ways is "Kill for Candy," with 570k streams.

Its that bass - sounds so very much like old-school New Order or The Cure, I just can't get it out of my brain.  Well, and then the frenetic synth during the breakdown.  Interestingly, the second most listened to track on their single album (2017's DREAMCAR) isn't the first song on the album, it is the third.  But that is also the song directly after "Kill for Candy," so maybe this is a case where people come for the hit, make it through one more track, and then move on.  The album opener has only 24k streams.  That second-most-listened-to track is called "Born to Lie," and guess what I think about its influences?

As much as I'm bagging on the 80's thing, the lyrics are actually pretty well done and I like that song - who never needed a good unrequited love song for themselves back in the 80's? Complete with a sick guitar solo ready for air guitaring along to in your bedroom?  Oh, and Duran Duran love makes a cameo in some of these songs too - check the album opener. And the intro to "All of the Dead Girls" makes me think of Icicle Works' "Whisper to a Scream" and Adam Ant.  So much derivation.
This album has actually grown on me over the day as I have listened to it more.  I still kind of doubt that I'd go see them play, but the music is pretty good.

Will I Go See them Play?  Probably not.

Danny Brown

One Liner: Annoyingly high-pitched rapper who enjoys the shock value
Wikipedia Genre: Hip hop
Spotify Says Similar To: Vince Staples and Earl Sweatshirt
Home: Detroit

Poster Position: 8
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  I reviewed Brown's most recent album (2016's Atrocity Exhibition) earlier this year, and found his vocal tone to be pretty annoying.  Brown comes out of Detroit and has this wild personality that he pushes in his lyrics, trying to up the shock value.  Some of his raps are pretty good, but I just have trouble getting over the tone of his voice.  Wait, but then there is "25 Bucks" from the 2013 Old album and featuring Purity Ring, where Brown apparently chilled it out for a minute and raps in a slightly lower register and it sounds GREAT!  Yeah, now I've been running through that Old album, and it is significantly better. Not perfect, on songs like "Red 2 Go" or "Smokin & Drinkin" he still slides his vocal register up into that high pitched nasal zone, but most of this album has him rapping in a manner that isn't brutal to the ears.  Much better.  By now, you're annoyed that I have yet to provide you with evidence of this sound, so let's get in to it.  I already gave you "Pneumonia" in that earlier review, so here is the other second-place tune on Spotify for him,. called "Ain't It Funny."

I mean, seriously.  That voice.  But the video is something to wtch, if you like super disturbing stuff to watch, that is.  The top song from that new 2016 album is "Really Doe," with 7.6 million streams.

I mentioned liking this one in my earlier review, just because Kendrick Lamar has guest verses that change the pace from the annoying ass Brown vocals.  Kendrick is so good! And Brown's vocal is so bad!  It's just like someone drilling into the base of my skull with a drill that uses the Peanuts teacher's voice sped up on a turntable.  What is the deal?  But then his most popular track overall, with 24.2 million streams, is a single from 2012 called "Grown Up."

The difference is huge.  His range is still higher than most, but it is so much more pleasant in that less high, more relaxed zone.  And the lyrics of that one are clever and good, going on about kids wishing they could be grown and how cool he is now that he is grown.

2013's Old, as I mentioned before, is the best of these albums.  A few get annoying but over all it is solid.  Black and Brown, from 2011, is pretty solid as well, and uses some good sampled beats to create excellent tracks for Brown to use up.  2011's XXX, which sounds like his break-through mix tape from what I've read, is over an hour and 22 songs of filthy rhymes and weird couplets.  Two older mix-tapes (2010's The Hybrid and 2008's Hot Soup) see him changing from a pretty regular sounding rapper on Hot Soup to figuring out his higher-pitched delivery on The Hybrid.  I wonder what happened to make him ratchet that up over time - just trying to be different in this crowded field?  I dunno.  Anyway, even though some of his songs are fine, I can't get over the issues I have with the majority of them. This guy is not for me.

Recommend? No.

Cut Copy

One Liner: Extremely derivative early 80's synth pop that seems fun to dance along to.
Wikipedia Genre: Chillwave, Synthpop, indietronica, dance-punk, new wave, ambient
Spotify Says Similar To: The Presets and Hot Chip
Home: Melbourne, Australia

Poster Position: 5
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  Holy 80's reboot, Batman!  This hews so closely to the early 80's electronic new wave pop that grew out of disco I'd have pretty well guessed it was made back then for some of these songs.  Retro-rific.  I mean, how weird is this stuff?  Here is their second-most listened to track, the one that just got me geeked up by the retro-ness of this thing, called "Hearts on Fire" with 7 million streams.

Its like the Psychedelic Furs and the Scissor Sisters met up with the Cure and Chic and Wham and they all decided to see what they could put together.  Or like the World Aid people - the DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? people - put out another album of tunes as soon as they were done working for the hungry kids.  Their most popular track (by a large margin) is "Lights and Music," also from their 2008 album In Ghost Colours, with 14.5 million streams.

That one is a touch more modern sounding, but not much, still has a lot of the retro-bend. Interesting thing, that both of those tracks (by far the most popular) are from that 2008 album, and then three more of their top ten are also from that album. 2011's Zonoscope then claims 3 of the top ten, with the remaining two spots taken up by one from 2013's Free Your Mind and one from 2016's January Tape. So the majority of their most popular tracks are from their significantly older albums, not the more recent things.

Huh, and then I listen to their most recent album 2016's January Tape, and I see why.  This is not anything like their old music, this is an entirely instrumental chillwave album of massively long, electronic tunes.  The most lively of them is the most popular of the five tracks, the nine and a half minute long "January Tape Part 3."

Kind of a happy tune, sunny sounding, if that makes sense?  Also kind of insistent, like an annoying robot who is programmed to demand that you go running with him when you are just chilling on your future-land couch.  LEAVE ME ALONE, RUNNING ROBOT!  I don't know if I've ever seen someone at a fest play a bunch of instrumental tunes, but I guess they could go with some of their new music in the fall and give everyone an interlude to go hit the head and grab a few more beers?
Oh, and "Take Me Over" steals so hard from Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere" it broke my brain for a few seconds of feverish brain-lock-downloading before I figured it out.

Yeah, this stuff isn't lighting my world on fire.  I can see it being pretty fun in a big crowd of people jamming out, but I certainly wouldn't prioritize this over many other things.

Recommend?  Probably not.

R.LUM.R

One Liner: Electronic R&B with a killer falsetto.
Wikipedia Genre: (no wikipedia entry, going with electronic R&B)
Spotify Says Similar To: Abhi//Dijon and Jordan Bratton
Home: Nashville, TN

Poster Position: 22
Slot: ?

Thoughts: Can we have a discussion of the weird use of punctuation in band names and how that is destroying the world faster than global warming and income inequality?  How can anyone be expected to survive in the world when people are making their band names out of missing vowels and excess periods?  WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?  Even beyond this guy, one of the top "Related Artists" on Spotify is something with two slashes in the name. DAMMIT!
He has a website, but it shows literally nothing about him other than tour and a video, but I want to know where the name comes from.  I guess it is a take on his name?  The guy's name is Reginald Lamar Williams, Jr.  So it starts with an R and ends with an r, and lamar has the sound "lum" in it? None of the articles I can find discuss the name.  This is a lack of journalistic integrity!
As for the music, this isn't really my thing.  Electronics, synths, beats, and a nice falsetto singing over the top like a Weeknd meets Disclosure-type thing.  No real albums on Spotify, just 9 singles (some of which are just remixes of other songs), but one is significantly more popular than the rest, "Frustrated," which has just over 15 million streams.

You know, that is a pretty good song, but you just aren't going to find me going back for more tunes in the electro R&B world.  Just not my thing.  But I'm on board with this guy if you are into that kind of thing.  Here is one more - "Be Honest" - which has 1.2 million streams.

Earnest and heartfelt and all that, but not for me.

Recommend? No

MISSIO

One Liner: Annoyingly hip electronic pop
Wikipedia Genre: Electronic, synth pop
Spotify Says Similar To: Maya Payne, XYLO
Home: Austin

Poster Position: 13
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  In a weird coincidence, I listened to the most popular song here, then went and got into the car with the wife to go grab lunch, and that same exact song was playing on the radio when I got in the car.  So, to give you reasoning about why I'm calling this annoying, I give you three examples: (1) the song "KDV," in which the chorus, spoken over trap-ish bounce synth beats, just says "Killin' Darth Vader with my motherfucking kick drum" over and over; (2) the top song is about waving your middle fingers in the air; and (3) the most recent single is called "Everybody Gets High" and involves a sing-song tone that sounds like a nursery rhyme.  Their Spotify bio says that they are "known for the dark, emotive pop." They have 5 singles, by the way.  I'm not sure that anyone with only five singles can be considered "known" for anything.  Especially when one of those five songs is a Lana Del Rey cover.  EDIT: since I wrote this, they released their full-length album Loner, which adds to the annoyingness with songs like "Kamikazee" that is all about wanting money and power and fame and champagne.

Their top single is that mysteriously named "Middle Fingers," which I'm sure is just about to get heavy play on the radio because it allows everyone to sing an arena-sized hook about throwing your middle fingers in the air.  2.5 million streams.

Although, honestly, that song is genius.  It may be annoyingly contrived, but its got the big fat wooooooaaaaahh chorus that people can sing along to, a catchy refrain that people will remember, and a rebellious "dance" move people can join in with by throwing up that middle finger and jamming along.  Its like the perfectly crafted pop tune.  They are probably going to freaking kill it. Dammit.  Here is that most recent single, "Everybody Gets High," which only has 61k listens on Spotify but is up to 77k on YouTube.  EDIT - in a week's time, the Spotify count went up to 95k

I'm pre-emptively annoyed at how this is going to be the biggest band of the year and everyone is going to be going nuts about how amazing this show was when they all got to throw their middle fingers in the air and eat pills while jamming to these two bearded geniuses.  So very annoyed.  But despite the fact that I'd love to be repping the next big thing, this is not my bag, baby.

Recommend?  No.

The Revivalists

One Liner: Jammy rock band from New Orleans with a big current alt rock radio hit.
Wikipedia Genre: Alternative rock, roots rock, indie rock, jam band
Spotify Says Similar To: Perpetual Groove and Galactic
Home: New Orleans, LA

Poster Position: 7
Slot: ?

Thoughts: 7th row on the poster is pretty impressive.  I've been saying for years that these guys should have been invited to come out to ACL.

I feel like I've talked about this over and over, but it looks like I've really only discussed it the one time when I reviewed their most recent album, 2015's Men Amongst Mountains, but I know the pedal steel guitar player for this band, Ed Williams.  I don;t know him well or anything, so don't start asking me for tickets or something, I'm just trying to give a tiny bit of a brag here while I can.
When I was a junior (I think) in college, I got to go to Miami for Spring Break with one of my best friends from college (Jason, the guy I always do ACL with each year) and our respective girlfriends (now wives = score).  We were staying with Jason's girlfriend's dad in Miami, who had this freaking ridiculously amazing house that made us all feel like the coolest people on the planet.  Like an episode of MTV Cribs that we got to go inhabit for the week.  That trip was fun as hell.  Anyway, the little brother of my friend's girlfriend was this surly little teenager who was trying to hang with us but still show how uncool it was to have to hang with us, and so at one point, he looked over to me as I sat by the pool sipping some frozen drink and enjoying myself, and he says (in a very condescending voice) "You have a lot of freckles!"  Which was a sick burn.  And off the top of my head, I just responded that "yes, yes, I do."  The cool college kids laughed at that (and have ever since), but now little Edward is having the last laugh because his band has become a big hit.  I got to see them play at the Parish a few years back, and they bring a ton of energy to their shows and really jam it out.  Jason and I hung with them in the green room before their show started, and they all seem like legitimately cool, down-to-earth guys who enjoy doing what they are doing these days.

So, yeah, that big hit.  The band's 2015 album seemed to not do much for years (I'm actually not sure about that, but literally was released on July 17, 2015 (and apparently sold 3,000 copies in its first week), and then it was only recently that they started getting a ton of play on the alternative rock stations.  That seems like a long ass time to wait for a hit to come along, more than a year.  I'm super curious how that came about for them, but I can't come up with an answer from looking at the web right now.  The odd twists and turns of the modern radio landscape.  But, now they've got a whopping 14.1 million streams for "Wish I Knew You," which dwarfs any of their other tunes.

Another 4.8 million views of that video too.  Funny video of old people grooving and a good tune as well.  As I noted when I first reviewed the album, the good stuff on there is also "Keep Going" and "All in the Family."  "Monster" is good too.  I think these guys are at their best when they embrace the jamminess of their sound and involve all of the instruments into a groove.

Before the newer album and the bigger hits you've got on there, the big song was from 2014's City of Sound.  When I saw them live, and somehow the college-aged kids around me knew all the lyrics, it was "Criminal" that everyone seemed to be there to hear.

Yeah, get right up in that groove right there.  Good stuff.  And the use of the pedal steel is just different - I mean, other than Robert Randolph, what big bands are out there using the steel for their searing guitar solos like this?  If you do a google search for that information, you mainly get stuff about classic (and by classic I mean dead) steel guitar guys or country music people.  I don't know, I know I'm biased here, but I think it makes for a much cooler sound to have the sax and steel added to the otherwise normal rock band sound to get something more interesting and full-sounding.  So, I'm a fan of these dudes and would enjoy seeing their set again.

Recommend?  Yes.

The Killers [EDIT]

One Liner: Massively popular alternative dance rock in the Oughts, even with no new music they ought to be fun.
Wikipedia Genre: Alternative rock, indie rock, post-punk revival, new wave, heartland rock
Spotify Says Similar To: The Strokes and Kaiser Chiefs
Home: Las Vegas, NV

Poster Position: 1
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  I know these guys weren't the first to make dance rock a thing, but I feel like they were one of the first to take the guitars and crunch of the alternative rock/grunge scene and add heavy synths to turn alternative rock into a dance party.  Their debut, 2004's Hot Fuss, was the soundtrack to quite a bit of those years when I lived in Waco, and the rest of the world loved it as well, making it a multi-platinum smash worldwide.  The Wikipedia page on the album describes all of the accolades it has received since - top ten greatest debut albums of all time, top 100 albums of the 2000's, 500 greatest albums of all time, etc.  So, all that to say that this band is massively popular.  However, in the music world, its all about what have you done for me lately.  Hot Fuss was in 2004, then Sam's Town was 2006 (which was very popular, but not as hot as the debut).  After that, you had Day and Age (2008) and Battle Born (2012), and neither of those two albums caught on with the public in any significant way.  Five years later, there have been rumors of new music, but nothing has come out (that I know of).  So, I guess my hope is that we hear the hits, and if that is the case, then this is going to be a great show.  Let's run through those hits.

From Hot Fuss, you've got four huge hits (and the rest of the album is damn good as well) led by "Mr. Brightside" at 286 million streams, then "Somebody Told Me" at 127 million, "All These Things That I've Done" at 73 million, and "Smile Like You Mean It" at 38 million.  Its funny, in my mind, I would have said that "Smile Like You Mean It" was the hit of those four. Shows you what I know.  I'll give you two of those. First, the disco-fied dance rock of "Somebody Told Me."

101 million views of that video too.  So, this one starts with a pretty straight-forward rock groove, but then when the chorus hits is when you realize that this isn't just another mid-oughts rock band.  It's the hooo-hooooh's and the disco drums, and synth scrim at the end. I don't think anyone was doing that sort of thing at this time (although a bunch of bands were doing it as soon as they heard this track).
And then "All These Things That I've Done," which is a different tone, but has the great chanting bit in the middle that will probably fun to yell along to in the park in October.  Really, the entirety of this song, even before the Soul/Soldier bit, it very singable.  This would be a good karaoke song, now that I think of it.

You gotta watch out for those KillerSluts with their boomerangs, man.  They will take you down. And I always love anything filmed in the neon graveyard of Vegas.  I wish I could average the number of plays on Spotify for an album without doing it manually, but screw it, I'll take the 4 minutes: 52.8 million streams average for this album.  Lowest stream count is 5.2 for the final track.
Sam's Town kicked out two big singles - "When You Were Young" at 107 million and "Read My Mind" at 44 million.  I'll give you the first one.

The Killers do pretty solid video work.  And that song is a good one - more like a massive U2/Springsteen arena-rock jam than the stuff from Hot Fuss.  17.5 million average streams for this album's songs (way lower than Hot Fuss).  Lowest is 3 million for the second to last song.

Day & Age just had the supremely weird "Human" as its big single:

I say supremely weird because of the chorus - "are we human, or are we dancer?"  WTF does that mean?  "my sign is vital, my hands are cold."  Uh, what?  But if you just go with it, you get a snappy rock song that is pretty fun.  But I still want to know, why can't I be both? Why?  I AM A HUMAN DANCER, DAMMIT!  The album also had a relatively big hit with "Spaceman" at 37.7 million streams.  Average streams for the songs on this album are 20.4 million per, with the low end being 4.2 for the last song.

Finally, you've got 2012's Battle Born.  No songs from this album make the top ten most popular tracks on Spotify for the band, and the top track has 36 million streams.  Here that one is, "Runaways."

I seriously don't remember ever having heard that song.  Brandon Flowers makes it pretty obvious that its a Killers track, but literally that doesn't ring any bells at all.  Sounds like a good 80's rock jam, "Heat of the Moment" mixed with Bryan Adams with a sprinkling of Journey - or something like that.  Average streams for the songs are 12.3 million, with the lowest at 5.2 million for the 8th track.  So this album definitely has the lowest streams on Spotify - I'd say it isn't bad (I just ran through it a few times) but it just sounds like they are still trying to recapture the excitement of ten years ago when the world has moved on to new sounds.  Except for "From Here on Out," which sounds like some weird Oak Ridge Boys/Eagles attempted countrification of their sound.  Not OK.

But let's think about the music world in these two different decades.  In 2004, the BIllboard top song was Usher/Lil' Jon's "Yeah!" and the top rock-ish songs were Hoobastank's "The Reason" and 3 Doors Down's "Here Without You."  [as an aside, interesting how rap heavy 2004 was, I didn't recall that]  Those rock songs are extremely earnest, sappy ass rockers about love, using violins but mainly being driven by modern rock-style drums, guitar, and bass.  And then The Killers came along with the synth-y blast of "Mr. Brightside" and made a real shift in the next few years of alternative rock music. But when Battle Born came out in 2012, you've got "Somebody I Used to Know" by Gotye as the top track and a bunch of electronic-heavy songs up top in the Billboard charts, with the top "rock" tracks honestly non-existent.  You could try to count things like Fun's "We Are Young" or The Wanted's "Glad You Came," or One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful," but I wouldn't count any of that as rock.  Maybe 60-something songs down the list when you get to The Lumineers' "Ho Hey," but certainly no songs that I would consider to be the classic style of rock.  So now these guys are trying to do the same old thing in 2012 that was successful in 2004, and it obviously is just missing the mark for most people.

I have a feeling that I'll need to make some pretty hard calls for the headliners in October.  The Chili Peppers are my can't-miss-show, then Jay-Z probably comes next, then Ice Cube.  After that, I'd love to see The Killers, Chance, and Gorillaz, but I know that it won't happen, some of those guys are going to be up against each other.  But I'd like to see this show anyway.  I bet it would be fun.

Recommend?  Yes.

[EDIT 6/26/17]  So, my friend and frequent reader Joseph alerted me to the fact that The Killers have released a new single, "The Man," just recently.  At 3.3 million streams already, its getting heard immediately, but when Joseph told me to go hear it, he was not complimentary, saying the following two nuggets of commentary: (1) "Remember Hot Fuss? Remember how Sam’s Town wasn’t as good but was still interesting?  Now go listen to their new single…it is GARBAGE.  I hate it with the power of my entire soul" and (2) "It's three+ minutes of the worst."

Already over a million views of that YouTube video.  These guys still command an audience. So, here are my thoughts.  The tune starts out pretty promisingly, funky beat and sweet sound.  I am fully ready to like it.  AND THEN THE LYRICS START AND JOSEPH WAS RIGHT AND HOLY SHIT THAT IS AWFUL, SO AWFUL.  A sampling:

• The Chorus: "I got gas in the tank, I got money in the bank, I got news for you baby, you're looking at the man, I got skin in the game, I got a household name, I got news for you baby, you're looking at the man."
• It's like all of the worst things about current music and rap distilled into that one chorus. I don't know if he is trying to be ironic or be funny, if he is, it misses the mark entirely.
• Verse Two: "When it comes to Friday, I always earn, Don't try to teach me, I got nothing to learn, 'Cause baby I'm gifted, You see what I mean?, USDA certified lean"
• Oh, God, if I have to hear a big group of 20 year olds sing the words "USDA certified lean" at this show, I'm going to have to gouge my eardrums out.
• The Breakdown: "Who's the man? Who's the man? I'm the man, I'm the man Who's the man with the plan? I'm the man."
• Oh, and after this, there are samples of a cork popping and a cash register cha-chinging.

This does not bode well for the new album that is apparently soon to come out.  Let's all pray for a sudden desire to postpone that album in favor of making all future shows a Hit Fuss-only redux.

R.I.P. Chris Cornell

Man, that freaking sucks, dude.  Soundgarden was one of the formative bands in my musical history. Although I think they got left behind when Nirvana and Pearl Jam blew up into even bigger stars, I'd put those second and third albums up against anything in the grunge/alternative rock canon right now. Badmotorfinger was a mainstay in high school (and still holds up really well today), and Superunknown (other than "Spoonman") was likewise a classic.  I spent a lot of time glowering at the world around me while listening to "Fell On Black Days," "Black Hole Sun," "4th of July," and "Like Suicide."  And the pure power and awesomeness of "Gun," "Rusty Cage" and "Jesus Christ Pose." Oh, and in that same vein, the joys (to a high school kid) of loudly singing along to "Big Dumb Sex" are not to be undersold.  Man, now that I'm thinking about it, Soundgarden are so freaking great. Although I will say that I never gave their most recent albums much love.

And after/during the Soundgarden thing, you had Temple of the Dog and then Audioslave, both of which were legitimately bad ass bands that made some great music.  None of those three bands would have been the same without the killer pipes of Cornell.  I saw Soundgarden live twice, and now I'm especially bummed that I missed out on their last tour with NIN.

Oh, and their freaking perfect tune from the Singles soundtrack - "Birth Ritual" - is also a killer track. Thunder and power.  That soundtrack was amazing.

Good work, man.  Sorry to see you go.

The Growlers

One Liner: Strokes-esque garage rock with a touch of psych in their older (and better) catalog
Wikipedia Genre: Surf rock, psychedelic rock, garage rock
Spotify Says Similar To: Ty Segall and Black Lips
Home: Costa Mesa, CA

Poster Position: 9
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  Their Spotify bio is heavy on the fact that these guys are psych pop like the 1960's, heavy on classic rock and surf rock.  Which I hear some of, but really they seem to be all over the place to me.  "Dope on a Rope" sounds so much like a Cure song I think they should sue.  "When You Were Made" sounds more like a slow, synthy Strokes tune.  Six albums, 2009's Are You In Or Out, 2010's Hot Tropics, 2013's Hung at Heart, 2013's Gilded Pleasures, 2014's Chinese Fountain, and 2016's City Club.  That is a lot of output for a short period of time (and it says to me that they should be more selective in what they release). Six of their top ten songs on Spotify are from the most recent album, with the most popular being "I'll Be Around" with just over 3 million streams.

That tune reminds me more of an uptempo Dr. Dog song than anything else, but as I've gone through this album, more and more I hear the Strokes fingerprints all over it.  Listen to "Too Many Times" and try to tell me that this is psych rock instead of a Strokes B-Side.

Right?  Down to the vocal effects they use on the voice, much less the guitar stylings.  So I've spent pretty much this whole day meandering my way through the band's catalog, and I gotta say that I like the older stuff more than the new album.  And now, after hearing it on the new album, it all reminds me of The Strokes, now that I have that lead singer affect in my mind, I can't shake it.  Their most listened to track overall is from 2013's Hung at Heart, and is called "One Million Lovers."  It currently has just over 6.5 million streams.

When I first started listening to these dudes the other day, I thought I was really going to like them, but the more I've listened, the more apathetic I've become to the full catalog.  I think I need to take a break and go to something completely different for a few days and then come back to these songs. Hold please.  So after letting these guys marinate for a while, I still feel the same way.  Give me their older tunes.  Since I suspect they will be excited about the new direction of the band and wanting to play the new stuff, I'll probably go see something else instead.

Recommend?  Probably not.

Traveller

One Liner: Folky acoustic featuring Robert Ellis
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia page
Spotify Says Similar To: Not on Spotify (see below)
Home: No clue, I'm going to guess Houston since that is where Robert Ellis is from?

Poster Position: 19
Slot: ?

Thoughts: Interesting.  The ACL bio for this band is non-existent, and they just provide a link for one YouTube video and a link to a "website" which is actually a link to Instagram.  Well, Spotify has a bunch of bands called Traveller or some variation of Traveller (listed in the order they appear on Spotify):

• Traveller - Not in English, the cover of the album is in Asian characters.  One song over 1k plays.
• Chippewa Travellers - Crazy Native American chanting and drums.  No song over 1k streams.
• Traveller - heavy metal screaming.  No song over 1k streams.
• Traveller - thumping club mixes of a song called "Bright Sign" (68k streams) and then also a metal-ish rock instrumental called "I Want You," a chill instrumental called "Lazy Sunday," and a jam-band-ish rocker called "Mud, Wind and Dust," [sic, where is my oxford comma, dammit?] all of which have less than 1k streams.
• Euphonic Traveller - super chill electronic for use poolside in Ibiza (hundreds of thousands of streams)
• Time Traveller - roaring metal.  Top song at 153k.
• Reeltime Travellers - bluegrass.  Top song at 216k (that was used on the Cold Mountain soundtrack, FYI)
• The Traveller Band - Irish traditionals, each song barely over 1k streams.
• Travellers Music.  Hip hop, no song more than 1k streams.
• Travellers - old school reggae, a few songs over 1k, but barely.
• The Travellers - jumpin' and jivin' swing.  The only big songs are covers of Stones songs.
• Nate Traveller - hip hop.  Two songs, none with more than 1k streams.  Actually not bad.
• The Traveller - straight up techno beatzzz.  19k streams for top track.
• Last Traveller - folky Irish music.  1,049 for top track.
• Sotu the Traveller - trippy electronic, kind of Thievery Corp.  66k for top track.
• Travellers Lodge Atomic 8 - World music.  No clue where from, heavy on horns and, like, marimbas.  2k songs for top track.
• The Travellers - no clue what language their song titles are written in, but every city on their About page is in Malta, so I'm guessing that is Maltese?  37k for top track.
• The Tyme Travellers - rock-ish tunes that sound like they were made with an iPhone in the womb of a dead elephant.  2k for top track.
• The Incognito Traveller - mod flute and xylophone tunes?  What am I even doing now? 2k for top track.
• Ethel Waters & the Travellers.  1920's stuff.  46k streams.
• Die 3 Travellers.  Accordion.  Polkas.  I've made it to the 7th Circle of Traveller Hell.
• There are still a crapton more - Misterious [sic] Traveller, Drei Travellers, Pilgrim Travellers, Sunset Travellers, Mysterious Traveller, World Traveller, Mindprint Traveller, The Millennium Traveller, Electric Traveller, Space Traveller, Time Travellers, Arkansas Travellers, The Chilled Traveller, Travellers Journal, Perry & the Travellers, Sun Travellers, Susuehanna Travellers, The Canaan Travellers, Midnight Travellers, My Fellow Traveller, Mystic Traveller, Armchair Traveller [I SWEAR I'M NOT MAKING THIS SHIT UP], Joe Traveller, The Fellow Travellers, Grand Trunk Travellers, Taj Majal Travellers, Tricks Upon Travellers, Acoustic Travellers, etc.  I swear to God it goes for like another 50 band names.
• Wikipedia lists The Travellers as a Canadian band from the 50's.

All of that, as a very long winded way of saying: MAYBE YOU DUDES SHOULD LOOK AT A NAME CHANGE?!

So, with no Spotify music that I can find (because none of those bands above have a song called "Western Movies," which is the only hint I have about who these guys are), I gotta go with the YouTube videos.  Oh shit, that is Robert Ellis.  So watch the video for this one:

Robert Ellis has a great voice - very distinctive.  He came to ACL a few years ago.  Do you think these guys like Western movies when they are lying alone in their bed because they think old John Wayne was hot?  I think that is the message of the tune.  Nice harmonies, pretty good for just two acoustics and a big dumb red van.  The other song available on YouTube that I could find is their "first song," called "Nobody Makes it Out."

Sound on that one is terrible - you can hear the breeze blowing by their iPhone that is wedged on a rock balancing on a guitar case leaning up against a stump over across that clearing.  Although I do like the bird chirps in the second verse.  I think I'd rather just hear Robert Ellis again.

Recommend? No.

La Femme

One Liner: French-language indie pop
Wikipedia Genre: New wave, cold wave, krautrock, psychedelic punk, psychedelic pop, surf rock, yéyé
Spotify Says Similar To: Lescop and Juniore
Home: Biarritz, France

Poster Position: 16
Slot: ?

Thoughts: Man, I know I should be more worldly and cool, but when a band comes on that isn't in English, its like when I get a new disc from Netflix (yes, I still have the disc plan, I am 80 years old, get offa my lawn) and it is a subtitled flick that I must have put in my queue on someone else's recommendation, and now I'm stuck with this disc taking up my movie-watching space for 3 days and I either suffer through reading everything or I just send it back and feel defeated.  Although I will say that the Argentinean movie Wild Tales was pretty awesome.

Anyhoo, before I get to the band, what the hell are those genres that Wikipedia claims for this band? Well, I know what some of those terms mean, but let us do a touch of investigation here:

• New wave - "New wave moved away from smooth blues and rock and roll sounds to create pop music that incorporated electronic and experimental music, mod and disco. Initially new wave was similar to punk rock, before becoming a distinct genre."
• cold wave - "a French variant of post-punk music, primarily spread in France, South Belgium and Romandie," further described (with regard to Siouxsie & the Banshees) as "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time."
• krautrock - "The term "krautrock" was originated by English-speaking music journalists as a humorous name for a diverse range of German bands whose music drew from sources such as psychedelic rock, the avant-garde, electronic music, funk, minimalism, jazz improvisation, and world music styles."
• psychedelic punk - has no definition on Wikipedia.
• psychedelic pop - "a pop music subgenre in which musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music are applied to pop songs. This includes "trippy" effects such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, sitars, backwards recording, and Beach Boys-style harmonies. "
• surf rock - "distinguished by reverb-drenched electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves," or, more accurately, like that one song from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack that everyone knows.
• yéyé - "a style of pop music that emerged from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal in the early 1960s. The term "yé-yé" was derived from the English term "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music bands such as the Beatles."   MMMMkay.

I don't feel like I really know much more about those genres from those descriptions, well, maybe I get the "cold wave" description.  Anyway, I definitely hear the surf influence, the psych rock stuff, and the pop stuff in here, so we'll just go with it.  No clue what they are saying on any of these songs, so the level of analysis I can really do is nonexistent.  Two albums - 2013's Psycho Tropical Berlin (with boobs on the cover, so beware at work if pulling up on Spotify) and 2016's Mystere.  Their three most streamed songs all come from the older album, with the most listened to being "Sur la planche 2013" at 4.2 million streams.

Yeah, you get that new wave beat right there at the start, sounds like something that would be on the Ferris Bueller soundtrack, with a hint of the surf guitars (and kind of an R.E.M. in the 80's feel). According to google translate, the title of this song is "on plate."  Can you imagine if a band just sang "on plate" over and over like that song apparently does?  WHAT DOES IT MEAN?  Ooooh, and they do backwards sounds in that song, so this is totally psychedelic pop.  I actually kind of dig that groove, to be honest.

The most popular song from the newer album is "Ou va le monde," with 1.8 million streams. 

That title apparently means "or the world."  Now that tune has the surf rock guitar thing in full effect.  I'll say that these tunes are pretty good, but honestly, despite having taken three years of French in junior high and high school, these guys could be talking mad shit about me personally and I wouldn't know.

Recommend?  Probably not.

The Black Angels

One Liner: psych rock crunchy-ness from Austin
Wikipedia Genre: Psychedelic rock, neo-psychedelia, garage rock
Spotify Says Similar To: The Warlocks, The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Home: Austin

Poster Position: 7
Slot: ?

Thoughts: Oh yeah, this is some good stuff.  How had I never heard of this band before now?  Well, that isn't true, I've been hearing their new single on the radio recently, but I had no clue this treasure trove of local psych sludge was hanging around in the ether.  The tunes are heavy, bluesy, fuzzy, with a kind of 70's rock vibe.  They have apparently been involved with the Austin Psych Fest (now called Levitation) for a while, and took their name from an old Velvet Underground song.  The band's new single, "Currency," hasn't yet caught up to a bunch of their older songs, but I'll give you that one first. Clocks in at 434k streams.

If you are scared about seizures from watching trippy stuff, do not click that link above.  I think my eyes are inside out from watching 30 seconds of it while I tried to figure out if I was going to survive. But, good tune, a little harder than most of the rest of the album, with those very forward guitar wails and less of the chilled vibe that comes out on much of the rest of the rock.  They go into danceable rock that rings of Arcade Fire ("Medicine") and stoner rock that reminds me of the Black Keys ("Comanche Moon").

When you go deeper back into the catalog, you hear the Velvet Underground vibe way more clearly. The 2014 EP, Clear Lake Forest, and especially the album closer "Linda's Gone," totally sound like one of those annoyingly droning tunes from the VU & Nico album.  That is not the angle I want this band to go in.  As I've mentioned before here, I never could get behind that album with the Warhol cover.
But then 2013's Indigo Meadow sounds like an homage to the Doors more than VU.  Mainly its the organ, but also the bouncing guitar lines that sound so much like classic Doors. Check out "Love Me Forever" or "Broken Soldier" for the spot on sound of classic Doors. Here is the latter of those two.

This album also has harder edged stuff, I hear the Pixies in "Don't Play With Guns."  Kind of wild, actually, that this music was being composed and released in 2013, when it sounds so perfectly matched to the music of 45 years ago.

2011's Phosgene Nightmare again goes back to the sound of the Velvets, and even goes to a more acoustic, chill sound on tunes like "The Boat Song."  This stuff sounds nothing like the new album. Then 2010's Phosphene Dream has some stuff that sounds like Beatles or the Kinks.  This band is all over, but they require that it be more than 30 years old in order to make it into their mash.  2008's Directions to See a Ghost is better than those "Pho" albums, although the sound of the cicadas on "The Return" was enough to make me want to murder people with my bare hands.  And the 16 minute long "Snake in the Grass" is a droning, trippy roll in the LSD-flavored grass planted by the Beatles back in the day.  I think if I were the drummer, I'd be exhausted by the end of that song.

The first album, 2006's Passover, actually sounds more like the new album than the rest of these, so I guess they are going back to their roots with the harder-edged sound.  It also contains their most popular song of all, the album opener "Young Man Dead," which has almost 3.5 million streams.

That's the good stuff right there.  Ominous and brooding, but it had me wanting to jam it more than just the once.  And that feel keeps going with messy, grungy songs like "The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven" or more bluesy tunes like "Bloodhounds on my Trail" (and I really like that latter one).

So, yeah, these guys are good at what they are doing.  Interesting for me to like their first and last albums better than their middle handful, but such is the way with the subjective world of music listening.
Interesting coincidence, a friend asked me to go to their ACL taping in a few weeks, so I'll be able to see them live and give a more detailed report soon.

Recommend: Yes.

Mobley

One Liner: Electronic pop R&B from a local duo
Wikipedia Genre: (no Wikipedia page, but I'd describe as electronic pop R&B, obviously)
Spotify Says Similar To: Eyes on the Shore and Quiet Company
Home: Austin

Poster Position: 22
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  Anthony Watkins II apparently lives here in Austin, although his website is not especially instructive about him, and there are no bios on Spotify or Wikipedia for me to lean on to learn more about him.  Austin Monthly did a short profile of him for being a band to watch.  His voice reminds me of the guy from Fritz & the Tantrums.  Oh, and here is a better article about them from the Chronicle.  Two guys in the band, Watkins and a guy named Tim Shelburne, but nothing about which role either of these guys plays in the band.  Oh well, what about the music?  Just one EP on Spotify, the Some Other Country EP from 2016. Reminds me of the Weeknd's electronic love song R&B stuff that's kind of depressing in tone.  Especially "2:09."  Although it isn't the top song from the album, I think "Solo" is the best one I've noticed on it.  Has 180k streams.

Huh.  That is actually a really good song.  I was fully prepared to not be that interested after the first few swings through his tunes, but that is some catchy, well-crafted stuff.  Look at me, opening up my horizons and digging on some e-R&B.  His most popular and most listened-to track, by far, is "Swoon," which was a single from 2015 (looks like his first one). It cranks up 1.1 million streams (this one goes to 11!).

Damn.  Its like the video from Radiohead's "No Surprises" that makes me breathe hard and worry about whether or not I am about to drown.  And another good tune.  OK, I'm coming around on this one. Definitely not my normal cup o' tea for a band to want to go watch, but this is surprisingly good.

Recommend?  Kind of, actually yeah.

Carson McHone

One Liner: Austinite making fine throwback country tunes
Wikipedia Genre: Country
Spotify Says Similar To: Lisa Wright and Ben Ballinger (never heard of any of the people she is purportedly similar to).  I'm saying she is like Kelly Willis.
Home: Austin

Poster Position: 22
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  I saw her open for Jerry Jeff Walker last year, and as I mentioned then, she has some good tunes. Native Austin girl, and the Chronicle did a good piece on her a while back that explains a lot about her background.  The music is country in the vein of early Kelly Willis or more raw, countrified Cowboy Junkies.  My favorite from the one album (2015's Goodluck Man) is "Dram Shop Gal," which has 30k streams on Spotify.

That video is 4 years old - promise she doesn't look quite such like a twelve year old now. And that isn't even her most popular track, as that honor goes to "Maybe They're Just Really Good Friends," which clocks in at 124k streams on Spotify.

That's the stuff that sounds a lot like Kelly Willis, the same little lilt in the voice that she used to great effect on What I Deserve.  This girl is good.  If you don't dig on country, then you aren't going to be into it, but I like her.

Recommend? Yes.