Bourbon & Beyond 2026 - Line 8 (Violent Femmes, Maddox Batson, Maoli, Lindsey Stirling, Noah Cyrus, St. Paul & the Broken Bones)

Violent Femmes

One Liner: Seminal, sneering folky punk with more than just Blister in the Sun 
Wikipedia Genre: Folk punk, alternative rock
Home: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Day: Friday

Thoughts:  C'mon man.  You know this one.

I can remember butchering these lyrics as "twister" in the sun as a child, and my favorite part of it was when it went really quiet and we all got low to the ground at camp dances, so that when they rip back in with the LEMMEGOWWWAAAAHHHN! we could all jump up and yell along and freak out.  Great times.  Funny thing though, I know a handful of these other songs, but I definitely never bought one of their albums or really got into any of it.  But "Blister in the Sun" (324.6 million streams) is a stone cold classic, "Add It Up," "Kiss Off" and "American Music" make me think of high school theater and building sets while jamming those and feeling very cool while counting off the items in "Kiss Off" before yelling "everything everything" with the rest of the nerds.  Pretty great.

Ten studio albums!  That feels like a lot!  But I guess 1983 was a really freaking long time ago by now, even if it feels to me like it should just be a few years ago.  That first album features "Blister in the Sun," "Gone Daddy Gone," "Add It Up," and "Kiss Off" and it went platinum. The whole album still sounds awesome. They kind of remind me of Devo with their weirdness that is still tuneful and fun.  I've listened to some of the recent stuff, and its fine, not as good to me as their OG stuff, but they apparently can still do the thing.

This is cool: "They were discovered by James Honeyman-Scott (of the Pretenders) on August 23, 1981, when the band was busking on a street corner in front of the Oriental Theatre, the Milwaukee venue that The Pretenders would be playing later that night. Chrissie Hynde invited them to play a brief acoustic set after the opening act."  I'd absolutely go see this - sign me up to sing their five top tracks right now!

Maddox Batson

One Liner:  If Justin Beiber was country adjacent and sucked even worse
Wikipedia Genre: Country, pop, rock (huh?!)
Home: Birmingham, Alabama
Day: Saturday

Thoughts:  Oh no.  No no no.  Like a Justin Beiber for country fans?  I'm 0:36 into "Girl in Green," which is his currently most popular song on Spotify, and this makes me want to die.

He was the kind of kid who was posting little covers to TikTok to try to get some clout, and a cover of a Sam Barber song blew up for him.  After that, his debut single also went viral and so Warner Brothers snapped him up.  They sent him out on a sold-out headlining tour across the US in 2024 and got to perform at CMA Fest.  

I have to stop this from entering my ears anymore.  Here is the most streamed tune, called "X's" and it likewise makes me sad to exist.  10.6 million streams from people who hate themselves.

Oh, the video made it even worse.  Much worse.  Oh God.  I hope I never hear that song again for the rest of my life.

Maoli

One Liner:  Country-adjacent reggae from a Hawaiian
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but reggae
Home: Maui
Day: Friday

Thoughts:  My brain thought about Mitski when I first saw that name, and then was like no, that is "male aioli," which is really freaking gross and maybe I need to wean my brain from the Internet.  I don't even know what to do with the first song, like, if Bob Marley wanted to make a bad country song?  What are we doing here?

I don't know who asked for that, but take it back.

Oh, well now I learned something.  Maoli is one of the indigenous names for native Hawaiians.  This guy is apparently a native of "upcountry Maui" - his web bio says the following: nine independent albums, 15-year recording career, a "fixture across the Pacific islands and beyond."  I do not believe you.  I kept it rolling for a while, and its just bad reggae.  Every song has that organ bubble sound of the off-beat strike, which gets really freaking old after a few songs.  I REMEMBER STIR IT UP TOO, MAOLI!  I was hopeful for "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body," but its all the same.  No thank you.

Lindsey Stirling

One Liner:  Someone eventually would try to mix classical with EDM and here we are
Wikipedia Genre: Electronic, classical, dubstep (wtf)
Home: Santa Ana, CA
Day: Friday

Thoughts:  Really hopeful for this one after two bad ones in a row.  Well, her most popular song is a Christmas classic mainly on violin, so maybe she can play the fiddle...  Oh God.  Line 8 is freaking cursed, y'all.  The next most popular song is Dubstep EDM plus fiddle?  Come on.  I had to hear this, now you have to as well.

If Evanescence joined with Skrillex and Boyd Tinsley.  I had to skip the rest of that one.  I can only do so much in the service of the music, y'all.  Unfortunately, this appears to be her thing - techno and classical violin.  It gets better, marginally.  When there are no overwrought lyrics, and it is just like a classical violin tune mixed with dubstep, I can kind of see the idea.  But when she covers "Radioactive" with the Pentatonix people, then you can call the FBI to have her arrested for war crimes.

Her YouTube videos are apparently very popular - over 3 billion total views - and she made the quarterfinals of America's Got Talent in 2010.  While still in high school, she wrote a solo violin rock song that helped her to win the state title of Arizona's Junior Miss.  Also, her Wikipedia entry is like 80 pages long, and includes a section detailing all of her violins, which are each named shit like Ace, Starlight, Excalibur, and Pickles.

My daughter walked into the home office as this was playing, wrinkled her nose, and was like "what are you listening to?"  It does not have the 17 year old girl vote, apparently.

You know what, my initial reaction was negative, but this is definitely something different and I think she is a pretty damn good violin player.  It is exhausting to listen to while trying to work, but I might go see what it looks like in person.

Noah Cyrus

One Liner:  Miley's little sister
Wikipedia Genre: None (which is odd), but this is folk and pop
Home: Nashville
Day: Saturday

Thoughts:  Yes, this is Miley's sister and Billy Ray's daughter.  I previously wrote a deep dive about her for the 2022 ACL that you can read here.  "July" is still a lovely song, and the version with Leon Bridges whips ass.  The original has flipping 1.3 BILLION streams, and the Bridges version another 305.3 million.  I definitely like the folky side of her more than the poppy side.

St. Paul & the Broken Bones

One Liner:  Soul re-dux powerhouse
Wikipedia Genre: Southern soul, soul
Home: Birmingham, Alabama
Day: Friday

Thoughts:  My deep dive on these cats was back in 2016, when they last came to ACL.  You can read it here, but I want to listen to their newer stuff as well.  It is, however, entirely unremarkable in comparison to what I said before.  These guys make great retro soul rock and nothing has changed with their new tunes.  It is fun.  They are a fun live show.

Bourbon & Beyond 2026 - Line 15 (Noah Rinker, The Stews, Couch, Hey, Nothing, Bryan Martin, Penelope Road, SG Goodman)

Noah Rinker

One Liner: Low key singer songwriter country
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but this is Americana, country, singer-songwriter
Home: Shaver Lake, CA
Day: ... 

Thoughts:  Wow.  Never heard this name in my life, and yet he's got three songs with more than 23 million streams.  He's got the sound of the new wave of Zach Bryan acolytes - Wyatt Flores, Dylan Gossett, Sam Barber, etc.  It honestly sounds really good.  he claims that his musical influences are John Mayer, Tyler Childers, and Kings of Leon.  I'd say that his lyrics are really good.  Clever without being too clever, like some crappy country people can get.  He grew up right outside of Yosemite NP, which would be a really cool place to be raised.  He started playing guitar at age 11 and has honed his songwriting ever since.  3 EPs, no albums yet.  His top song has 38.3 million streams, which I think is impressive.

Come on.  A big old yellow lab and a campfire?  This dude knows what he is aiming for.  Really pretty song though.  I like this guy - I'm going to send this stuff to the wife to enjoy.

The Stews

One Liner: Fraternity bros ripping out some rock and roll
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but this is rock and roll, southern rock, jam-adjacent
Home: Auburn, AL
Day: ... 

Thoughts:  I was really hoping that this band was going to be a group of stewardesses in their little 1970's stewardess outfits.  I got ripped off, its just some bros.  But they are some bros on the rise.  Literal bros - two of them met through their fraternity.  They got their start out of Auburn, playing small clubs in the southeast, but since 2022 they've played a bunch of big halls and Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and more.  My first read on them by listening to their most popular Spotify tunes is that they sound a little raw, like they really are just a bar band from a college town.  But their 2024 full-length album (Chicken Fight) is pretty good - has a Kings of Leon rock and roll sound (which is sort of funny after the last guy said KOL was an influence).  If you have heard Dexter and the Moonrocks or Backseat Lovers, this sort of has that vibe.  Some sources online are calling them a jam band, but I don't hear that at all.  They maybe have some solos and whatnot, but this is not a noodle fest.

Their top song is from an early 2021 EP called The Stews, and the song is named "Make It Out."  You'll hear that college band rawness here, except they have now released a new 2025 version called "Radio Edit" - I guess they are hopeful about the radio!  

But if you run through that 2024 album, you get a much more polished and rock-forward sound.  I like the new stuff better.  I'd go check this out.  

Couch

One Liner: Softly jazzy pop for people who live in lofts
Wikipedia Genre: soul pop, funk pop, jazz pop, retro pop (all the pops!)
Home: Boston
Day: ... 

Thoughts:  What a great band name.  I can't believe it wasn't already taken by some mid-90's stoners who just named the band after the thing they were sitting in.  We got a Car Seat Headrest before a Couch?  So wrong.  But, if you are in the mood for some soft rock and jazzy little tunes, I have the spot for you to settle in.  Kind of reminding me of one of the ACL bands last year who I was very excited about, and then when I saw the show I was terribly bored.  Lucius. Maybe kind of Lake Street Dive too?  Her voice is lovely, the groove is funky, it ought to all be there for the enjoying.  But I don't listen to Norah Jones much anymore for a reason...  Top track, by quite a bit, is a 2019 single (their third overall song) called "Easy to Love."  12.7 million streams.

A nice sentiment and a good little groove.  Feels like the kind of band it would be fun to "see" while you sit in the shade and drink beer with your friends and sort of semi-notice that music happens to be happening.  Although , the first song on their 2025 album kind of brings the heat - "On The Wire" can get me doing some white man overbite dance moves here at my desk.  They have some covers that are kind of entertaining - "Toxic" or "Vienna" being the two obvious selections.  I think I will probably let these guys do their thing without me.

Hey, Nothing

One Liner: Truly great emo-indie by two younguns who harmonize with feeling
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but indie
Home: Atlanta
Day: ... 

Thoughts:  Luckily for me, I already wrote a post about these cats - they were at ACL last year.  You can read that more complete post here: All Play and No Work: hey, nothing  Go check that out and enjoy.

Bryan Martin

One Liner: Generic rockin' country with trucks and guns and drankin'
Wikipedia Genre: Country
Home: Logansport, Louisiana
Day: ... 

Thoughts:  Holy hell.  Absolutely never heard of this guy, and he has a song with 413.7 million streams?  What the hell?  Ahh, its because this is some new Nashville ass country.  "Hard to make a livin' why the gas so high?" and something about 9 to 5 and Friday night and drivin' down by the creek to the water and gettin' stoooooned.  Whoooweeee!  I got a pistol by my side!  The devil's my friend!  I bet this song was featured on Yellowstone.

"We Ride" with 413.7 million streams.  That is wild for him to be down here on the 15th line of this poster with that one and then three others with more than a hundred million.  Is it because his name is hella generic?  You'd think he would rate higher on the poster than friggin' Plain White T's.

His Wikipedia bio is a hell of a ride on its own.  As a teenager, he worked on an oil rig as he played football and rode bulls.  He broke his collar bone riding bulls and developed an addiction to painkillers.  He then enlisted in the Army, attempted suicide, and started making music.  WTF man.  Save some trauma for later, buddy.  

And I figured out the popularity - "We Ride" became a TikTok thing and then he got to open for Morgan Wallen.  That will do it.  The current song I am listening to is a plodding stomper about how he will kill you if you try to come near his doublewide.  I will let someone else go watch this guy list American things over the top of generic rockin' country.

Penelope Road

One Liner: Soft pop indie made for cuddlin'
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but indie pop, synth pop, jazzy yacht groove
Home: Atlanta
Day: ... 

Thoughts:  Quite a juxtaposition to go from Mr. Tough-Guy-Bad-Ass-Singerman up there straight into some synth pop indie made for cuddling.  Also, my grandpa-ass system for figuring out music genre may have to join the present century, as this is yet another band with no Wikipedia entry.  Come on, fellow youths!  Gimme my Wiki entries!  Although they apparently have called their music "stanky funky junk," and Wikipedia would not have given me that beautiful word salad, so maybe we are in the right place after all.

The band name comes from the road in Atlanta where several of them lived.  It sounds like they all left Atlanta for college but then came back sophomore year to try to make the band thing work out.  A funny and odd anecdote in the one interview I read with them, the lead singer says that they don't love their EP.  Which is a really weird thing to say!  "The music we released sucks, please come hear our band."  He also said they all grew up on yacht rock, which makes a lot of sense.

Not sure I'm feeling it.  Now that I hear the yacht rock influence, I can dig where that is coming from, but it actually sounds a lot like those Couch people up above with kind of a jazzy rock goof sound.  Their top songs are from that first EP that they hate, so I will give you one from the newest release.  This is "Chance Encounter" with just over a million streams.

I feel like my girls have probably done some affected TikTok to this showing their tender side or something.  I don't love it.  In "Mercy" the lead singer's voice sounds like Ben Platt.  I actually popped over to Spotify to see if they had added him as a guest.  This will sound rude, but this feels like a band that will break up soon.

SG Goodman

One Liner: Americana leaning into lite rock and roll with great lyrics
Wikipedia Genre: Americana, folk, country, rock
Home: Hickman, KY
Day: ... 

Thoughts:  When I saw this on the poster, I figured it was S.L. Houser, who was at ACL last year and offers music lessons for Austinites.  Nope, another lady using initials to confuse and entertain.  (also, not L.P. Giobbi or M.J. Lenderman, who were both at ACL last year.  Initial Artists for all!).

She is pretty good!  She was raised in Hickman, Kentucky, which is a tiny town on the Mississippi River, in that little key-tip of Kentucky.  I have never been to Kentucky.  I am realizing, looking at the map, that it is just north of Tennessee (where I have been), and just south of Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri (where I have never been).  Maybe I need to rent a car and go see all of those exciting other states.

She was raised in the Southern Baptist church and says she went three times a week.  That seems like too much church, but I think I did the same with Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.  Good times.  She has also been driving since she was seven, which is apparently legal in Kentucky.

The tunes are kind of a mix of Sierra Ferrell's quasi-country Americana and Lucinda Williams' soulful, rockin' Americana.  I have been enjoying it quite a bit.  She got started in 2017 with an album with something called The Savage Radley, and then 2020 was her solo debut.  Produced by Jim James of My Morning Jacket, I think it has a cool combined sound.  That one includes her most popular song, "Space and Time," with 10.1 million streams.

Tyler Childers covered this later, likely being the reason it launched into popularity.  Here and there, that little vibrato she does for a second in the second line can get to be too much in some of these songs, but overall, I think she is a really good songwriter with some good chill vibes.  Like "Snapping Turtle," where you believe she is about to join some kids in torturing a turtle before she turns the stick on those little shits and makes them cry - I can see it all in my mind's eye and I really like it.  I'd go watch her.

Bourbon & Beyond - 2026 - Line 10 (Buffalo Traffic Jam, The Return of Jackie & Judy, Our Lady Peace, Sons of Legion)

I am going to run through the Bourbon and Beyond lineup slightly differently than my normal ACL lineup reviews, mainly to save space and time.  Instead of individual reviews for every band (lots of which I have already reviewed before and are ancient so a whole new review is likely not needed) I will go by rows on the poster.  I am way too psyched about this poster.  90's me mixed with today me all in one happy wrapper.

Buffalo Traffic Jam

One Liner: Stomping folky bluegrass 
Wikipedia Genre: Folk
Home: Bozeman, Montana
Day: ... 

Thoughts:  Their first song sounds like this is CAAMP.  Which is a good thing in my book.  Frankie Cassidy and Nathan Ross met as students at Montana State University and started making some roots Americana tunes together.  The lead singer's voice also sort of reminds me of the guy in Briscoe, in that he seems to have a strain lodged in his voice that never leaves, no matter what note he is singing.  But I could see this being a very fun little band to hoot and holler along with.

Top Song, by a lot, is "Fool's Gold" with 35.3 million streams.

I know there is no way my fingers would ever cooperate, but the idea of being able to jam a mandolin - truly would be amazing.  These two dudes spent college learning how to jam and make money.  I spent mine catching unidentifiable skin conditions from the rotting couch in front of a fraternity house.  They win.  

First available music is a 2024 eponymous EP.  None of those songs appear to have gained much traction, but their next couple singles started doing 6 million, 8 million, 19 million in streams, so they are on the radar now.  No actual album yet, just a 2025 EP that includes that "Fool's Gold" tune.

I'd check this out.

The Return of Jackie & Judy

One Liner: Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney playing Ramones covers.

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but The Ramones
Home: We'll just say Portland.
Day: ... 

Thoughts: I saw The Ramones in the mid-90s because they opened for Pearl Jam at Southpark Meadows in Austin.  My main memory of that trip was my friend Strick hanging out the window of my car while we were hauling ass up I-35 so that he could bum a cigarette from the outstretched hand of a cute girl in a car next to us.  My only real memory of The Ramones was how funny we thought it was that they still counted off before every single song.  So, this isn't The Ramones, but it is named after a 1980 Ramones song, which seems like a terrible band name if you want recognition.  But luckily for these folks, they don't need recognition because they are already very famous.  This is Fred Armisen on drums and Sleater-Kinney on guitar/vocals.  Haha - it's like a Portlandia skit come to life.  That is awesome.  Fred Armisen's hair looks terrifying.  Is that a wig?  He's probably supposed to look like someone who was in the Ramones and I just don't know that schtick.

They have no songs on Spotify.  They have no real YouTube videos.  All you get are these crappy clips from some tiny show.  Probably in Portland.

Raw and sort of goofy, but what the hell.  I bet that would be a fun show.  Shocking revelation down here on the poster...

Our Lady Peace

One Liner: MTV buzz bin kings for a hot minute

Wikipedia Genre: Alternative rock, post grunge
Home: Toronto (I would not have pegged them as Canadian)
Day: ... 

Thoughts: Before you read anything, are you able to remember their biggest hit?  This is another one of the 90's redux bands on this poster, and I have to sheepishly admit that I got a little jolt of excitement when I saw them on the poster.  Around the time college was coming to a close, their album Clumsy came out with the very large hit "Superman's Dead."  Boasts 53.2 million streams on Spotify, despite not feeling (to me at least) like the kind of song I still hear on the classic rock/alternative rock stations.  Come on, sing along!

Oh that video is some good ass 90's buzz bin look-at-how-deep-we-are stuff.  Wait, is Silverchair on this poster?  Silverchair should be on this poster.  Fun to go back through this album.  "Clumsy" was another hit you may recall, "4am" popped right back into my head with every lyric like it had been in my disc changer yesterday.  The whole disc trips a memory switch for me that I am enjoying.  Looks like they kept making music, including a 1999 album with the very unfortunate title of Happiness...Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch.  And even though re-listening to Clumsy has been fun, I don't think I was missing much by allowing them to disappear into the musical brain backburner for the last 30 years.  

But you know what?  I don't have a single MuchMusic Video Award to my name, and they have TEN!  That is the "most MMVAs ever awarded to a band (tied with Billy Talent)" according to Wikipedia.  I really like that entry - here is a definitive statement, with a paren that entirely debunks that definitive statement.  Good work.  Also, congrats to whatever Billy Talent is.  Ten studio albums!  Also, their Wikipedia entry is massive - like a really deep dive into their history.  More than a lot of actually great bands would have.  Looks like the band is pretty much now just the initial lead singer, and then a bunch of new dudes who have joined since then.

I tried out the live album from 2003 - I guess the height of their powers.  I think the cock-rock heavy Creed/Live-style instrumentation is still pretty solid (although who knows what they have 20 years later), but it is the lead singer's voice that throws a wrench into it all.  If the schedule allows me to drop by the stage for the last song, then I'm in.  Otherwise, I think this little trip down memory lane was probably enough.

Sons of Legion

One Liner: Nashville duo trying hard and sounding like it

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but bluesy rock with a little soul tinge
Home: Nashville
Day: ... 

Thoughts: I'd like to go on record that "In The Air Tonight" is a terrible pump up song.  I don't understand at all why that became a thing for sports players to get pumped up to.  It's use in The Hangover was genius, and that drum fill is one of one, but the song overall is plodding and about the guy who was boning Phil Collins' wife on the side.  Anyway, this band's top streamer is a mediocre cover of that song.  I apologize in advance for sharing the names of the two guys in this band, but they are Adam McInnis and Daddy Jack.  I'm sorry you had to read that.  One truly fascinating note about the band is that Adam is tone deaf.  I have no clue how you would be able to make music or sing with that condition, but that is wild.  I have to say, I was sort of digging this for a few songs, and then it started to wear me out a little.  Too overwrought, like I am listening to someone trying to write a song that will get picked up by the NFL to play as a game goes to commercial.  That is probably rude, but I just don't want to keep this playing anymore.  

No album, just a handful of singles stretching back to 2020.  The top single, after the Phil Collins thing, is called "Fire Starter" and has 13.8 million streams.

Sort of an Imagine Dragons thing going in there as they plod their way into the chorus.  I think my favorite tune is "Carolina," but I don't think I will go out of my way to catch this show.

Quick Hits, Vol. 379 (Ghostface Killah, Friendship, Chance the Rapper, Cass McCombs)

I have been really bad at writing reviews recently, or tracking potential ACL acts, because work has actually gotten busy again.  If this keeps up, my usual ACL reviewing is going to be severely truncated!  But today I felt like finishing up this one and moving Cass McCombs to my saved albums (I also really want to get the Earl Sweatshirt album out of my new music list), so I'm back!  Hopefully will have more for you to enjoy soon.

Also, sadly, the YouTube linking problem is back.  Dammit.

Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele 2.  The first music I ever played on Spotify was Ghostface.  When I found out that I could just heard anything I wanted to, and I had been enjoying his Fishscale album (on CD!), I went and fired up the original Supreme Clientele from 2000.  I felt like a million bucks, to be able to just pull up whatever I wanted at any time.  Now, I think it feels overwhelming to have this much choice, but it is also awesome at the same time.  Anyway, here is another classic-sounding rap album full of soul samples, old school collaborators (Redman, Raekwon, Method Man, Dave Chapelle), and Ghost firing up dexterous raps over the top of it all.  They also use the sample from "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" that immediately had me walking around singing "YOU LOOK LIKE AC GREEN, BITCH DON'T CALL HERE ANYMORE!"  Which is both an amazingly rude thing to say about former NBA Champion Green, as well as a terrible thing to say to a woman.  Of interest to me, but likely a conspiracy theory too far, is that this song ("Love Me Anymore") never actually includes the AC Green line, it just samples that same song, but AC Green's nickname in the league was Iron Man, which is also the nickname and persona that Ghostface has used for years.  Was that intentional?  Probably not.  I very obviously have too much dumb information in my head.  Top track is "Rap Kingpin" with a sad 1.091 million streams.

I freaking love videos with crowds of people, especially kids, just grooving to a rap track.  I need someone to invite me to stand in the background and be the weird redhead bobbing his head.  "Soul Thang" has a line that cracks me up every time - "Bitch how the fuck is you bougie you drive a Nissan."  My son and I have a theory that 97% of all Nissans in the world have damaged bumpers.  Now that I have told you this, everywhere you go you will notice Sentras with their front bumper barely hanging on and Altimas with dented plastic around their license plate.  Some of the skits here are kind of funny, but most of them aren't moving the needle.  Final thought is "Candyland," one of those classic schtick tracks where he shouts out loads of candy things as he raps about slanging drugs.  Makes me think of the old Ice Cube track about Mother Goose stories.  Pretty good album, nothing in here just pops like a major hit is waiting, but if you love sample-based rap and lyrics you can understand (Grandpa alert!) then this is for you.

Friendship - Caveman Wakes Up.  I think I know who suggested this to me, because it definitely has a Marshall feel to it.  Sort of The National meets Lou Reed vibe.  I haven't looked up the band yet, but it feels like a group of dudes who met in art school in Brooklyn and formed the band in a cramped loft where they live, rehearse, and throw pottery.  Nope - Philly!  I think "Love Vape" is a good indicator of the album - rambling, DIY-sounding little guitar meandering with a driving backbeat and lyrics that go through some items like this: "Kind of freaky at the BP down off Locust, I heard they got the cheapest cigarettes on Earth, They still give you plastic bags, Rolling shutters covеred in tags, Somebody's name writtеn on the overpass, Did they have to hang upside down?"  Low streams, but honestly not as low as I sort of expected.  "Free Association" has 682k streams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB_fN-Ghb2w

Maybe a Strand of Oaks feel here as well. But definitely the mopey ass sound of The National is cruising along with these guys.  They claim this to be country rock, which I am not hearing, but their Spotify bio also says that this album is for "loitering outside a roadhouse on the haunted tundra."  Which, sure.  Yeah.  I don't know, I guess it would be fine to keep around and let these songs loiter in my Keepers playlist to pop up every other month, but I think I'll just let them go.

Chance the Rapper - STAR LINE.  I can't do it.  Every time the first song starts my brain cringes in on itself and I just have to stop.  That is not entirely true, I've made it through here a few times while just working and not paying attention, but if I pay attention, this honestly grates my nerves.  Part is his little yelp that he does repeatedly, but part of it also is that this feels too loud or too maximal in my ears.  Not sure how to explain it.  It is also AN HOUR AND SEVEN MINUTES.  Get over yourself.  Most songs have about 1.5 million streams, but one with Joey Bada$$ crushes those - "The Highs & The Lows" has 28.1 million streams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCEv2NMr46E

My God it felt good to delete that album out of my queue.  Meanwhile, listening again to that particular track, and it has a good ass beat and some nice flow.  Some of those lyrics are corny but it sounds really nice.  Whatever.  Go away, Chance.

Cass McCombs - Interior Live Oak.  This album is wild.  I like it, but I feel like it takes hours and takes me on a journey between so many other artists.  Like, you know those moments when you are listening to a disc and think "oh, I guess that was the end of the CD and now I am listening to a new Gary Clark Jr. song."  That happens over and over during the hour and fourteen minute runtime of this disc.  Gary Clark, Ryan Adams, Fleet Foxes, Robert Ellis, Beck, like Norah Jones or something, it just keeps morphing around with sounds.  Top track is the second one, called "Peace" with 510k streams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyB8EqCEYZM

Like much of this, nothing in that tune is going to just blow you away with mastery, but it is a really nice little rock and roll tune.  Great harmonies, good guitar picking, just a lovely nugget of tuneful rock.  I really like this fella.

Quick Hits, Vol. 378 (Florence + The Machine, JID, Goose, Margo Price)

Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream.  I wish that there was a single on this.  Because her voice is freaking magic - definitely one of my favorite female singers - and I think some of that comes from the time I saw her live and it felt like I had the top of my head blown off.  She can wail or croon or whisper or bray and all of them swaddle me like silk.  The opening/title track is a little odd to me, in that it feels like she is making fun of how the crowd reacts to her show.  I guess it isn't making fun so much as finding comfort in it, but it also seems to cheapen the pleasure of freaking out at a show.  But the second tune, "One of the Greats" has stuck with me some, just because it builds in a really great way until it all falls out for the orchestral outro.  The opening clicking and tense vocals of "Witch Dance" is also cool.  But I don't feel like there is one that just jams - lots of thickly layered songs with heavy lyrics and style shifts throughout.  Maybe I'm vacuous, but gimme a "Dog Days Are Over."  The top track is the title track with 23.2 million streams.

As someone with a tiny tattoo on my lower gut, the idea of a tattoo on the Achilles region seems really painful to me.  But watching them all freak out in the little pressed-tin ceilinged room gave me the goose bumps anyway.  Feels like this song will be great when they play live, just to get the whole crowd doing as they are told.  Some clever boffin is going to figure to scream FLORENCE when she tells the crowd to scream her name and will be very proud of him or herself.  I like the album - this is good music - I just wanted something more catchy if I could get it.

JID - God Does Like Ugly.  I have talked about J.I.D. before, and I find him to be one of the best-sounding rappers around right now.  He's got a deep tone like Pusha T, and wildly inventive lyricism like Kendrick.  High praise, I know.  My personal issue with this album is that it is not very fun.  I want my rap to be a good time, and this is some time-consuming, deep-dive-listening type stuff where you really need to sit down and listen carefully for it to mean anything.  So much work!  Jeez!  But like, "Glory" is somewhat accessible with all of the beat switches and the gospel singers getting after it in the background.  "WRK" is the top streamer, and feels the most like a traditional catchy rap track aiming for popularity.  16.4 million streams and a good groove.

Get yo ass up!  The next song features Clipse and is cool, to hear all three of these guys on one track, just trying to outdo each other.  For me, personally, I could do without the pop angle it seems to go in about halfway through the disc.  "No Boo" with all of the Spanish language bits can go, "Sk8" with Ciara and Earthgang isn't doing it for me, but the Don Toliver track "What We On" can stay even if it is kind of slow.  Thankfully, "On McAfee" pops back with a brawny beat and some dexterous vocals to get me back into the mood.  Mereba sounds like Janet Jackson ("comin' out the car lookin' more like Freddie Jackson!") but once she is done, "Of Blue" gets better.  Uneven album for me.  I wish it had more real bangers.

Goose - Chain Yer Dragon.  I am becoming a bit obsessive with Goose.  This week, my youngest walked into the living room/kitchen area as I was cooking dinner and jamming to a very weird Christmas-time Goose show on YouTube, raised an eyebrow at me, and asked who my favorite band of all time is.  I said, as I have always said since about 1988, R.E.M., and then went into a longer explanation that she promptly tuned out.  Good times.  But I will definitely say that I have been listening to this band like crazy over the past few months.  And this disc is a big reason why.  This album rules.  You may hate jam band music, and that is totally fine, but the opening track just makes me happy with its goofy ass lyrics and funky strut.  "please don't groove in the middle of my love connection" is just a wonderful lyric.  I like how the disc gives you multiple facets - funky groove nuggets and chill balladry and all of the points in between.  Just makes me want to reach for it again each time it is time to play music (which annoys the crap out of my lovely wife).  Criminally low stream count, so maybe I'm just out here on an island jamming by myself... "Madalena" is the top track with 1.4 million streams.

That's your piano ballad side, but it is really nice.  Makes me think of some smooth 70's AM gold - if James Taylor used more instruments and liked his bassist to funk it up.  "Royal" kinda rules too.  I think they just do a great job of allowing a little bit of jammy wandering, but still keep the overall songs themselves cohesive and tight enough.  

Margo Price - Hard Headed Woman.  Pretty straight-forward, classic country thing.  I don't hear any obvious hits or lyrics that really turn my head, but bumping along with "Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down," which sounds like it could have been an old Waylon tune from back in the day being covered now, is entirely pleasant.  Sadly for her, the top song, by 3x, is the one that features Tyler Childers.  "Love Me Like You Used to Do."  1.5 million streams.

Again, that could be a classic tune from 1975 - and nothing is wrong with that at all!  If you want to hear a really well-sung country ballad, then you are in the right spot!  I generally like it, but I am also generally ready to quit hearing it.  When I want some country music, this will be a sweet spot.  But most days, I would prefer other things.

Quick Hits, Vol. 377 (The Beths, Deftones, Madi Diaz, Snocaps)

Saw a few new show announcements that I wanted to follow up on - Courtney Barnett coming back to town, Primus playing again (no clue if they can still do their thing or if it is off the rails), and an announcement that Metallica is going to play The Sphere in Vegas.  I have no clue if that show would be worth the time and expense to go see in the immersive dome, but I can see it being pretty rad.

The Beths - Straight Line Was a Lie.  If you read me much, then you know that I deeply and genuinely love this band.  The Aussie accents that sneak into the vocals, the great harmonies, the catchy tunefulness, the snippets of hard rock that sneak in sometimes.  It's all very pleasing to me.  I've seen them three times that I can recall right now, and am ready for more immediately.  I really like the goofy chumminess that they show on stage, although I have to say that my reaction to that sort of thing that kicks off this album, with someone apologizing and saying they were "thinking about something else" is kind of annoying.  Just make a good clean song for the album?  This disc also pulls back from the more straight-forward rock on a few tracks, like the stripped-down and lovely "Mother Pray For Me" but also for parts of second song "Mosquitoes" and "Til My Heart Stops", but much of this still goes for the poppy and pleasant rock and roll that hooked me originally - the title track, "No Joy," or "Metal."  It is a quick listen at 43 minutes, but I really like the varied tones.  Because the world only loves pop rap and AI music now, the stream count is criminally low.  The top track is "Metal" with 1.7 million.

See?  How pretty is that?  Strummy like an old The Sundays classic.  The lead guitarist gives off Dwight Schrute as a serial killer vibes.  I was wondering if the "short word" she is singing about is iron, but maybe I am missing the point of this song.  Nice catapult though!  This is not their best album (Future Me Hates Me, FWIW), but it is still very enjoyable!

Deftones - private music.  There is something about the Deftones that has never clicked for me.  Something about it is too harsh (and I like some really harsh stuff!).  I have tried to come up with other descriptors, but they don't make sense as much as harsh.  Something about their songs is metallic and difficult for my ears.  Although, I will readily say that "milk of the madonna" on here freaking jams.  That one sounds more like Royal Blood or one of those sorts of bashing alt-rock bands.  The top track is the first one, but I'll give the second-most streamed because the first one maybe gets extra streams without being deserving.  This is the fourth track on the album, "infinite source, with just over 20 million streams.

The end of that one jams.  Has some of those same guitar tones as the only song that has really stuck with me from the band, that unsettling "Change (in the House of Flies)" tune.  The opening riffs of this album, coming right as the Beths have finished their last lovely note, has been jarring for sure.  I think I will let it go away and not hear any more.

Madi Diaz - Fatal Optimist.  Did you ever watch that show Shrinking?  Quick digression here, that I promise will come back around to this album.  There is a scene in that show that is fantastic, because of the cleverly pieced juxtaposition of humor and grief into one little bit.  I couldn't find a YouTube clip of it, so this is just memory...  The main character of the show (Jason Siegel) is grieving the death of his wife and listening to the Phoebe Bridgers song "I Know The End" while riding a bike and having a good cry.  As he weeps, he yells out "FUCK YOU PHEOBE BRIDGERS!" twice, and then smacks into an opening car door.  It has stuck with me in my head, because both that song and that show were excellent for me.  So, fast forward to about two weeks ago, when I get the news that one of my son's college roommates and best buds was killed in a late night car accident.  So freaking awful.  Delightfully quirky and polite 20 year old kid just snuffed out.  The next day, I have to go pick up some firewood from my Dad and as I am driving home, the song from this album called "Ambivalence" pops up in my mix and I just start leaking.  It was the line of "you're always right here, no matter who I'm with," and even though that wasn't what she meant (for it to affect me after a death), by God I had a hard time getting it back together. Woof.  I think, also, her voice is so damned beautiful that it really got to me in an unexpected way.

Anyway, I got hooked on Diaz because of her song from the 2024 album called "Everything Almost," which I feel like may be a perfect song.  A lot of these have killer lyrics, sung in a wonderful voice, over completely basic acoustic accompaniment.  The lowest-streamed tune on here is a great message too - or at least it speaks to me and my wife's thoughts about flirting (and hey, that's the name of the song!).  The top track is one called "Heavy Metal," with just 247k streams.

Well, watching that video and listening to that song again just nailed me all over again.  Dammit.  FUCK YOU MADI DIAZ!  The closing tune, which is also the title track, finally kicks in guitars and drums and whatnot, and it almost reminds me of those Beths songs I was championing up above!  Really a pretty album and worthy of keeping.

Snocaps - Snocaps.  When this was first announced, I was freaking PUMPED because it is Waxahatchee (Katie Crutchfield), MJ Lendermann (who as you likely know I love way too much), and Katie's sister Allison Crutchfield.  Hell yeah.  Just "Right Back To It" over and over like that amazing song was one album.  Sadly, that isn't what I received, but it is a good disc of indie rock tunes anyway.  Lendermann is only used for his guitarwork, which I find to be a mistake, but they didn't ask me.  Jerks.  This disc is a masterclass in diminishing streams - with two exceptions, every song on here has less streams than the song before it.  So, the top streamer is the first track, a buzzy jam called "Coast."  1 million streams.

That tune is sort of giving me Breeders vibes - nothing that is just blowing me away with the new and exciting style of it, but I still end up bobbing my head and sort of grooving along.  That feels like the smell of the entire disc.  Nothing that is revelatory, but a good groove anyway.  If Lenderman was given some microphone time to add harmonies, I think it could have been sweet.

Ryan Bingham: Moody Amphitheater: November 7, 2025

I think I am probably good on seeing Ryan Bingham anymore.  He is a good songwriter, and I like his voice, but that is the third or fourth time I have seen him play, and I just can't say that it gets me all that riled up.  I had that thought about the Avett Brothers the other day when someone asked me if I wanted to buy some tickets for their next pass through Austin, and I had the realization that I sort of don't want to see them again.  I loved the last ACL taping I saw of them a year or so ago, but I think I'm good now.  Not sure I have ever had that sort of realization before, where even on a band that I really like, I'm kind of whatever about another live show from them.

Anyway, the reason that this show was great, was that the temperature had finally freaking chilled out here in Austin, and so sitting on the MA lawn to let this show wash over us was a freaking perfect way to spend an evening.  We got our grub on at Scholtz's and then wandered over to the venue, and it all felt really nice.  Bingham and his band got up there and jammed out and rocked loose and we just kinda lounged and watched him stand around.  One cool thing, some worker from the venue was handing out passes to go down into the pit, so me and a buddy went down there for a few songs to get up close.  But Bingham isn't really one to put on a "show" - there are not many exciting dance moves or movement.  He just plays and sings.

Annoyingly, he also took a half hour long intermission in the show.  Talk about destroying the momentum of the event!  I'm sure it made the venue a bunch in beer revenue, but it was pretty annoying from an entertainment standpoint.  Best song of the night wasn't even his - "London Homesick Blues" was excellent.  Fun night to be with friends and hearing music either way!

Father John Misty: Moody Amphitheater: September 16, 2025

Man, FJM has continued to be an enigma for me.  I should love him, I think.  Clever lyrics, slightly jammy rock and roll, lovely voice, seems cool as shit - what is not to love?!  And then he puts out a new album and I am kind of underwhelmed each time.  I don't dislike any of it, and generally enjoy as it is flowing by me, but it definitely is not something that pops up in my head as the next thing I need to definitely hear again.  But, these tickets were cheap, like one of those $80 gets you four tickets on the lawn with no extra fees, and so I invited another couple to come along and check it out.

And that part?  Impeccable.  I will gripe about the prices at the Moody Amphitheater until I die, but listening to someone like this from a nice little patch of grass is just a wonderful thing.  We went and got full of good German food from Scholtz's, as well as a few tasty German brews, and then wandered over to the hillside to semi-sorta pay attention to my man Josh as he stalked around the stage and sang some pretty stuff.

I know that stance is not what a true music writer nerd should be going with.  I ought to be describing the setlist and the cut of his suit and how his band backed him up.  But I honestly didn't pay attention to any of that and I just basked in the pleasure of a steamy Austin evening and some nice tunes.

Quick Hits, Vol. 376 (Alex G, Freddie Gibbs, The Hives, Purity Ring)

An annoying/funny thing here is that some sort of update to YouTube or Blogger or my computer means that I can't get the dang YouTube videos to imbed anymore.  And because I doubt the IT dudes here at the office want to hear me whine about a completely non-work-related issue with my computer, I have no clue how to fix it.  Hopefully I can figure something else out soon, but for now you are going to mostly get the jenky text links you see below the top one below.  I might have to publish things at home from here on.  Sorry!  NEVERMIND - WE BACK!  I had to agree to let Google see my cookies or something, but whatever!!!

Alex G - Headlights.  The opening guitar tone makes me think of early 90's Sting, and then it melts into a really lovely little indie rock album.  I have to say that when this whole thing first played, I liked the obvious song ("Afterlife") and was kinda blah about the rest.  But after repeated listens, I am realizing how good these songs are and how the whole disc just makes me feel nice.  Even the electronica-tinged things like "Bounce Boy," it still fits in the midst of these otherwise ultra-indie tunes.  As expected, "Afterlife" is the top tune with 7.7 million.

I feel like square dancing would make me dizzy as hell.  But that little mandolin lick is really good - I like how it backs out and then re-asserts itself   On the radio the other day it made me laugh when they let the after-bit pop back up and the DJ was like, "ooop, there's more!"  I wonder what that kid wore on his back to not die during all of that dragging?  Either way, a beautiful song.  Varied album with lots of different sounds going on, but I have really enjoyed it.

Freddie Gibbs - Alfredo 2.  Another collaboration with The Alchemist, and another laid back collection of cool-ass raps.  The sonics are impeccable, I mean, the lush smoothness of the "Mar-a-Lago" beat is ridiculous.  Just so cool and chill.  I feel like I need to dress up and lounge just to hear it.  The Alchemist must have a really rad collection of old music to create all of these beats.  "Ensalada," which features Anderson.Paak, is the top track with 19.2 million streams.

It is weird that the cover is a bowl of ramen.  When the name of the album references a different noodle dish?  I like Paak - his voice is a cool mix of gravel and shine.  Weird though, that they are using the word "ensalada" to mean "there's a lotta" in here.  I was hoping for a tight ode to salad.  It is a good rap album.  I think Freddie Gibbs sound cool as hell, and mixing him into these old school sample-heavy beats is a win.

The Hives - The Hives Forever Forever The Hives.  You know how sometimes you see a band live and it totally changes what you think about their album?  That happened here for sure, as their live show was freaking fantastic, and all of a sudden I am digging this disc even more than I did before.  Pretty basic disc of rip-roaring rock and roll energy, but hell yeah.  The main riff in "Born a Rebel" make me think of Steve Miller's "Abracadabra."  The opening chord of "They Can' Hear the Music" sounds just like The Killers' "When You Were Young."  "Enough is Enough" has that raw riffage that made everyone fall for them in the first place... and so it is likely no surprise that is the top track with 3.8 million streams.

Great opening line - "everyone's a little fuckin' bitch!"  You're not hearing anything new here, but what you hear is freaking fun.  I like it.

Purity Ring - purity ring.  I loved some of their older stuff, so I tossed this one into the queue.  However, each and every time it pops back up now I want to turn it off.  Not a ringing endorsement.  Her voice is a little too whispery and cutesy, and the beats are no where as tight as on 2015's another eternity.  Just so I can move along from it, here is the top streamer, "place of my own" with 1.1 million streams.

Is that Fortnight?  And yes, this cements that I do not enjoy this music.  Stop making those noises.