The Official ACL Blog for like Eight People!
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Wikipedia Genre: Alternative country, indie rock, folk rock, Americana Home: Indiana Poster Position: 9 Day: Sunday at 5:00 Both Weekends.
Thoughts: Here in 2015 and 2018. I love these guys. Saw them when they came through in 2015, and it was a great show. High energy, real deal rock and roll. Can't recall if I saw it in 2018 too, but expect I did?
They formed in 2011, playing gigs around Kentucky and Indiana before showing up at SXSW to promote their first EP. The head of Rough Trade was in the audience and offered them a contract soon thereafter. Spin and Esquire named Houndmouth a "must-see" band at Lollapalooza, and Garden & Gun said, "You'd be hard pressed to find a more effortless, well-crafted mix of roots and rock this year than the debut album from this Louisville quartet. Pretty high praise!
But it was their second album - Little Neon Limelight - that blew up - mainly because their top single is on there Excellent jammy, country-tinged rock. One of those groups (like Of Monsters & Men or Lumineers) where it seems like ten people are singing on half of the tracks. But these tunes hop into a groove and rock it with short-ish (almost everything under 4 minutes) jams. Also reminds me of Bright Light Social Hour, which I dig. Fun music. "Sedona" is a great track, I still hear it from time to time in playlists and on the radio. 321.7 million streams.
I like the lines about your neon glowing brighter, a "Saturday night kind of pink." They have a lot of party tunes that should be great live, and a few slower burners that are also good. But that song there has gone platinum in the US and reached #1 on the AAA Chart
2018's Golden Age starts with about 40 seconds of silence, and then eases you into a slightly cleaner sound. Still good rock and roll, but a little less shaggy, more produced. Less roots, more pop. Also, did the female vocalist leave? Didn't they have a female on the old songs? Yes, Wikipedia says that Katie Toupin left the band in 2016, so now its just three dudes. That is too bad, I liked her harmonies, made the band a little different than the usual sausage party. These tunes are pretty good - you can run through the album repeatedly in quick fashion because its only 10 songs and 36 minutes. The top track is "This Party," with a sentiment of wishing you could escape. 3.6 million streams (sooooo far below the big hit).
Hear that? Not a roots rock song, but still a pretty solid rock and roll tune. Danceable, catchy, good groove. Makes me think of Spoon. "Waiting for the Night" sounds kinda like a Strokes vibe. "Modern Love" hews a little closer to the classic sound, acoustic guitars and harmonies. Well, then they have a weird ending to the song with robot vocals and spooky synths. Otherwise, nice tune. "Coast to Coast" uses a beat piece that I associate with the Beastie Boys, which is attractive to me, but now I need to dig into where that actually came from. Oh, no, wait, that is an Eagles song! "Those Shoes." Aw yeah! That is kinda tight. 1.4 million streams.
"'cause I'mma high, plains, drifta." Such a tight beat. Makes a cool groove on that tune. But I think the easiest comparison on this album is to Spoon. Most of the album sounds like their recent tunes.
Their most recent disc is 2021's Good for You. That one sort of has Wilco vibes to me. The top track on there is "McKenzie" with 34.8 million streams.
Nice tune, and the back scenes footage of the guys makes them seem like fun dudes. I also note that they continue to like songs with place names as the title, as this album has an "Ohio" and a "Las Vegas" to go with "Sedona" and "Houston Train" and "Come on, Illinois" and "Halfway to Hardinsburg" on prior albums.
I have to admit that I prefer the old tunes to the new album, but I'd still go see these guys do their thing again. They are definitely the best band I have heard on this poster in a few days.
Wikipedia Genre: reggaeton, Latin trap, R&B, experimental, bedroom pop
Home: Valladolid, Spain
Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8. Both Weekends. Day and Time.
[location]
Thoughts: Not trying to be rude, but I literally was about to start doing some other task at work, noticed the sounds coming from my speakers, said "I gotta get this thing done and move on," and then involuntarily shivered like I had tasted bad sushi. I'm going to say that this is like if Bad Bunny did techno? I don't pay attention to either of those genres, so that could be entirely off, but it makes sense to me.
Ruslan Mediavilla is from Spain, and Wikipedia claims that he explores: "underground and avant-garde genres such as bedroom pop, R&B, reggaeton, techno, hip hop and even jazz." He began his musical training by the age of four at the music school run by his mother, who was a member of a Belarusian folk group. He also studied piano at a professional conservatory. The background of the name here is that it combines his nickname of "Rus" with the name of the little green dude from Monsters, Inc. Which, uh, sure.
Lots of singles until his one album, DAISY, from 2025. "MalibU" is his top track with 108.7 million streams.
I was thinking 'bout you, BIROMBA. A little English, a lot of Spanish. I don't care for it. I am about to go vacation in Costa Rica, so maybe I need to download this to my phone so that we can roll down the windows of the rental and look legit as we cruise around the hard streets of some fancy beach resort.
His second biggest streamer is a 2022 single called "mwah :3". I have looked at that and thought through the meaning of that song title and nothing I can come up with makes me more comfortable than what I first considered. 67 million streams.
Dammit. Now I am getting AT&T commercials en Espanol before these videos. Doing this blog jacks up my algorithms so much. I will not be going out of my way to hear what this fella can do with underground and avant-garde genres...
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but this is EDM, house
Home: Austin
Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 24 Weekend One Only. Date/Time
[location]
Thoughts: Lotsa Austin artists down here in the bottom dregs of the poster. This is the alias of local DJ and producer Lucas Ogden. HIs tiny bio says the following: "While he has been a musician since his early childhood, he began producing music in his college dorm room. He soon after ventured to Los Angeles to attend Icon Collective to continue to hone his craft. Drawing inspiration from the likes of ODESZA and Flume to name a few, he aims to create continuity and a recognizable sound from seemingly different sounding tracks." I love that first bit - was he dropping sick beats as a toddler? Or does this mean he got piano lessons like everyone else when he was young?
I went down a rabbit hole about the Icon Collective as well: "Icon Collective was a premier Los Angeles-based music production and artist development school, notable for shaping the careers of major electronic dance music (EDM) artists. Founded in 2005, the school operated a physical campus in Burbank/LA and offered online programs, focusing on "the artist mindset" rather than just technical audio engineering." It was also apparently called the MIT of Bass Music. Suuuuuure. It closed suddenly in 2025 due to financial difficulties. Because anyone could make these songs using Claude?
About ten total songs on Spotify - no albums, no EPs, just singles - and several of the early ones have very few streams. But his 2025 single called "keeping u close" boasts an impressive 439k streams.
When he said he aims to create a recognizable sound, did he just mean that it would sound like every other house musician ever? Because mission accomplished. I'm being rude - I am sure that this set, in the little Tito's tent, would be a perfectly enjoyable and sweaty start to the day.
His other top streamer is "247" with 183k streams.
Man, those old school calculators with the printout feature were a good time when I was little. Trying to get it to write amazingly cool stuff like 80085, and then leaving it behind for the owner to find it? Height of hilarity. But yeah, another EDM song that sounds like all the other EDM songs to me. I would not go out of my way for this one.
One Liner: Strong voiced Brit singing hard-edged and confessional pop
Wikipedia Genre: Pop, R&B, Soul
Home: Croydon, UK
Poster Position: Top Line - 2 (up from line 16 in 2024!) Both Weekends. Date/Time
[location]
Thoughts: Welp, another one who was just here in 2024. I guess there just aren't any other artists out there so we need to see the same things over and over...
This is not the first Lola Young that comes up on Wikipedia, who is the Baroness Young of Hornsey, and a British actress, author, crossbench peer, and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham. Instead, this is a gal who alternatively reminds me of both Amy Winehouse and Billie Eilish. Her Wikipedia is pretty useless. I know she is English and was born 1/4/01 and that she was nominated for the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2021 and then placed fourth in 2022 in the BBC Sound of... competition. In an interview, she claimed to have more shoes than brain cells.
Four albums - 2019's Intro, 2023's My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely, 2024's This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway, and 2026's I'm Only F**king Myself. My normal reaction to a pop star who reminds me of Eilish would be to tell you that I hate this, but instead, I have actually enjoyed listening to it. The backing music is a little funkier and harder, and her voice can sometimes do the annoying whispery shit, but can also belt in an appealing way. I guess I now see why she is already back to the 'Fest, because one of the tracks on the 2024 album blew up in a massive way. Like, dwarfing all other songs in the catalog for sure. "Messy" fires up 1.1 BILLION streams. I guess this struck a chord on TikTok.
It used to weird me out if I hadn't ever heard a major hit, but now it feels semi-normal to realize that the kids are jamming things that never cross my space. But I can see the teenagers doing stuff with this one about being too messy or too clean or whatever. I actually like it. And listening to the whole album, this just really sounds familiar to me.
Her top single from that 2023 album, this is "Don't Hate Me," with 43 million streams.
Her lips are so ridiculously full. Like Jennifer Lawrence playing Roseanne Barr. Almost a rap track, but I'm definitely grooving on it. The second most streamed tune is a single that came out after the albums, "Conceited," with 99.8 million streams.
That is the one that feels even more like Eilish/Winehouse crossover. But in her own way - she's not exactly like either of those but just flashes it here and there. "Wish You Were Dead" is pretty solid too, with a well-written look at a shit relationship.
Then the newest album also works pretty well. "SPIDERS" makes me think of Olivia Rodrigo with the rock and roll edge and confessional lyrics. I honestly came here to bag on this, thinking that I would tear it up for being another repeat visitor doing nothing but generic pop music, and then I found myself really enjoying it. She has some swagger and good lyrics and its not just a vacuous pop money grab thing. I might go see it.
One Liner: 'member The Smiths? I 'member... Wikipedia Genre: Pop rock, alternative rock Home: Chicago Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8 Day: ??? Both Weekends.
[location].
Thoughts: Fascinating. Over the years, there have been a lot of throwback 80's sounds, but I can't recall one off the top of my head that is so distinct. These dudes sound exactly like The Smiths. Well, I say that as someone who just sorta knows the hits from the Smiths. I am not a deeply rooted Smiths connoisseur, so maybe this just sounds like what a Casual Smiths Guy thinks the Smiths sound like? I am so intrigued as to why someone would make music like this in 2026. Also, the song that just came on sounds like Orville Peck. And his voice can also sound like Brandon Flowers at times. Those two should take the stage together and blow minds.
The lead singer, Wes Leavins, says that the name for the band comes from a pen-pal relationship he had with French film star Bridgette Bardot when he was in high school. That is so weird, it is bound to be true, but how odd. Was she really writing him back, or does she have an agent who handles that? What in the world did they talk about? Anyway, the lead singer grew up in Texas, but then moved to Chicago to star as Elvis in a musical called Million Dollar Quartet, which "stars" Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Odd quartet, in my opinion. But, that job got him noticed by Baz Luhrmann and he was going to be the voice of Elvis in the 2022 biopic (which I thought kind of sucked) until Baz realized that Austin Butler could do the voice. Initially, Wes had a band called Juvenescent, and some of those band members came over to BCMB. Since then, they have opened for Muse and, in a perfect circle moment, Morissey.
Two albums - 2024's The Future is Our Way Out and 2026's Irreversible. No songs have more than 2 million streams, so the Morissey-style crooning is not catching on with the hip kids. Top streamer is "We Were Never Alive" from the first disc. 1.5 million streams.
Loogit the hair on that synth player! Impressive. Funny that a dude from Texas could sound a smidge British like that as he croons. On the new disc, I kind of like the instrumentation of some of the songs, for example, the guitar jangle in "The Early Days of Love" makes me think of early REM (with Morrisey singing...). The top track on that disc is "Slumber Party" with 1.2 million streams.
Interesting, at least to me, that their most streamed songs are the ones that go harder on the instrumentation. Not like hard rock or anything, but both of these more streamed songs are definitely danceable rock. Versus that jangly cruiser I mentioned above that has 97k streams.
I doubt I would do this show, but it could be the best option we have?
One Liner: Poor man's Ryan Bingham with a good pedigree
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but I'll go with Americana
Home: Austin
Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 15 Both Weekends. day?
[location].
Thoughts: His third trip to ACL - 2021 and 2024 - they are really trying to make "fetch" happen. As you can tell from the post that I wrote back in '21, he was not on anyone's radar at the time:
"We've reached the part of the poster where the band doesn't even have Spotify. Not a good sign. There is something called Calder the Band, but that doesn't seem anything like Calder Allen. On YouTube, a search for Calder Allen brings up a dude who looks like he might still be in high school. His two uploaded videos are a Spanish project and a video about Slope and Direct Variation, that must have been for a math class that I long ago forgot about. Calder caught a nice fish one time. I tried "Calder Allen musician," and got this video of two children singing in a church?
Not bad! But nothing else on YouTube appears to reflect the sounds that this artist plans to make for us at ACL. The internet tells me only this: "Calder Allen, who comes from a talented family: he's the grandson of Terry & Jo Harvey Allen, son of Bale Creek Allen, and nephew of Bukka Allen." Okey doke! Seems like, if he were so damn talented, that he'd have his music available on the Internet for people to hear!"
But since then, he's become more of a thing. The Chronicle wrote about his debut at ACL, and it was obvious then that he had a musically famous family that other unknown ACL artists do not. "Calder Allen debuted at last fall’s ACL Fest with an all-star band that included Charlie Sexton [Arc Angels, his own solo stuff], Martie Maguire [The Chicks!], Glenn Fukunaga [apparently Austin's premier bassist for 50 years], and his uncle Bukka Allen [has played with Terry Allen, Ian Moore, Joe Ely, Robert Earl Keen, Jack Ingram, Ryan Bingham, The Bodeans, Courtyard Hounds and Joe Walsh]." I mean, his dad wrote "Amarillo Highway," so this dude is set up for success.
Well, now he has some music on Spotify for the world to hear. 2022 was a big year: Stone EP, Shine EP, Show Me The Way EP, and then the album The Game. All of the songs that were on the EPs are also on the album, so I guess this was just a slow roll out of the singles. And strangely, the top song sounds familiar. Feels like something I heard on a TV show. "Good Times" has 1.5 million streams.
He's like an ad for Austin with his multiple Howler Brothers hats and shirts and Yeti gear and Continental Club shots. He is literally wearing two Howler Brothers shirts at the same time in one of those shots. I mean, I'd take the sponsorship money too! His album makes me think of Ryan Bingham - low key musically and a solid, if unremarkable, voice. Actually, I guess it is in the same vein as Zach Bryan as well.
Since that one, he has released 2024's poorly punctuated Dreamers Drifters and Hiders and then 2026's Fault Lines. Neither of those has any appreciable stream count. No song on DDH breaks 100k and only the opening track on the 2026 album does it. Sounds very much like Bingham to me. "Daylight Saves" with 117k.
The second-most streamed tune is from the early days as well - "Show Me The Way," with 464k streams.
I called his voice unremarkable up there, and that is probably true, but I also want to take it back. It's a really nice voice - has a little bit of rough edge to it, while still sounding smooth and comforting. After listening through all of his tunes today, I really enjoy it. This guy is solid.
One Liner: Pretty damn terrible, aggro EDM Wikipedia Genre: Dubstep, brostep, EDM, electro house, pop, post-hardcore, emo Home: L.A. Poster Position: Headliner (ugh) Day: ??? Weekend One Only.
[location].
Thoughts: Last here in 2014. I missed that show, but before I get into a more fullsome discussion and history, I was very entertained to read back over my recounting of seeing him play at Stubb's that year instead. Enjoy.
"If you have been reading my other posts, you'll know that I have been excited about seeing Skrillex. I still couldn't tell you what the hell the difference is between dubstep and techno or EDM or whatever else name this stuff has been given, but I freaking love Bangarang. One more time!
However, I wanted to go see Eminem play the Saturday night of ACL 2014, so I knew I was going to have to miss out on Skrillex's show. Until my friend Joseph scored us a pair of tickets to go see him at Stubb's outdoor for the second weekend of ACL. Both of us were pretty pumped, and I spent a large part of that Friday playing the new album (Recess) to get myself all ready to go.
And it was lame. So lame. I think the underlying reason is that I just don't do the drugs like the kids these days. The only way that the people around me could have been as excited as they were by this concert is if they were doing the ecstasies or Molly or freebasing bathsalts or whatever. This concert consisted of Skrillex hitting buttons on his control panel to play songs, and then doing his best to pump up the crowd by pumping his fists or shooting finger guns or yelling super original things like "Whats up AUSTIN!?!" or "get your hands UP AUSTIN!!" Multiple times during the show he would step up onto his control console thing and try to hype us up or get us to clap together.
Also, his crowd was exceedingly aggro. Just a bunch of 'roided up 20-year old dudes who wanted to ram into other people. I hated that for sure.
In case you want to know, dubstep is defined as a genre of EDM that originated in South London and generally features syncopated drum and percussion with prominent sub bass frequencies. Reading about it hurts my head. The stylistic origins noted on Wikipedia are reggae, dub, grime, 2-step garage, drum and bass, and breakstep. Uh, reggae? I'm not a huge reggae guy or anything, but "No Woman No Cry" did not spawn Skrillex. And no one has ever heard of those other styles of music. Someone in their parent's basement in Cleveland just made that stuff up to confuse old people like me.
I was hopeful that Joseph was going to give me a glowing review of the show, because he was hammered with pre-show plans for a cab ride, and that would support my theory that I needed to be in a different mind-set to have enjoyed the show. No such luck. A random sampling of some of his texts from after the show:
"Not gonna lie... Awful" "Unless you are high and 18" "I'm going to eat some tacos and go home" "It's much worse than you and I mixing a show" [which really can't be true. I wouldn't even have the first clue how to torture synthesizers and drum machines into making those noises] "But serious. Wtf was that show?" As well as some fun auto-correct entries like "Syrah" and "I marry."
Thinking back on the show, I think it had all of the pieces I was expecting. Ridiculously loud and deep bass (thank God I brought ear plugs. I am sooo old). Some of the popular songs I had heard before, plus a few other ones incorporating current rap hits that were kind of fun. A huge sweaty crowd, almost exclusively under 30, filming every second on their phone so they can watch it over and over again (I guess? Weirdos.). So I'm not really sure what my problem was, but I just didn't feel the hype or excitement once I was standing there among the crowd. Glad I gave it a shot. No need to try to see him again."
So, there you have it. Maybe the worst show I can remember seeing at Stubb's. And now he is a top headliner for ACL! Despite having no popular releases for years unless he had Justin Beiber on the track. Such a disappointment to see him on the poster at all, much less as #5 on the whole thing.
I guess the whole lineup has a lot more EDM than expected. Cut out the rap and country and just go EDM and pop?
Anyway, this is Sonny John Moore, and if you have never seen him he looks like Corey Feldman. He was originally the lead singer for a hardcore band called From First to Last, and then went out on his own to continue trying to make that same sort of music. He was scheduled to record a debut album on his own, but that session was apparently cancelled, and in 2010 he fired out a dubstep album called My Name is Skrillex as a free download on MySpace. His real debut was later that year, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, and it won him three freaking Grammy Awards - Best Dance/Electronic Album, Best Dance Recording, and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical. The title track was that winner, and it now has 238 million streams.
Does anyone else get stressed out by that song? That being said, that song (with no actual video) has over 347 MILLION freaking views on YouTube. What the what? Maybe if you take ecstasy. I don’t know, it’s interesting? Not sure how to dance to it other than doing the Bernie. On the other hand, Bangarang is a ridiculous animal slice of badassery that I still don’t get enough of. If you have not heard it before, you need to click on the YouTube link way up above, turn it up very loud, stand up in an area where you won’t break anything valuable, and just do what you need to do for 3 minutes.
The build-up and release (a/k/a The Drop, as described in 9/10s of all Rolling Stone articles about EDM. I swear they'd say Creedence used bass drops if they published an article tomorrow) is freaking fantastic. This type of music is apparently derived from Dubstep, which is a thing in the UK. According to RS, people trying to insult Skrillex call is Brostep because it attracts bro-ey douches. I get that too - very true in my experience.
But it was in 2015 that Skrillex really figured out his meal ticket. He made an album with Diplo called Jack U that invited a bunch of famous collaborators to the mic - 2 Chainz, Missy Elliot, and crucially, Justin Beiber.
Skrillex and Diplo present Jack U. Kingpin EDM stuff, with some of these tunes bringing the pain while others are kind of bland. Best ones are the "Take U There" remix with Missy Elliott, "Beats Knockin'," (this is what I wanted his concert to sound like, instead of lame-o-rama), and "Febreze." The weakest one has Justin Beiber, which is not alone a reason for disliking it, but its just a boring crooner song. And of course, that is the track with over a BILLION stupid streams.
But overall, it is not a good album. I re-tried Recess, and it makes work way more stressful than it needs to be. Just an unrelenting stream of aggressive beats and sounds. I do have to make one more comment - I worked with the church youth group for like eight years, and some of the Senior knucklehead boys would repeatedly play a Skrillex song called "Devil's Den" because they thought it was funny how awful it sounds. I hated it.
I very much doubt I will go watch this show. I think he is pretty bad.
One Liner: Prime chillaxed GenAlpha indie rock Wikipedia Genre: indie pop, indie rock Home: Australia Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 15 Day: ??? Weekend Two Only.
[location].
Thoughts: I've let this one roll for a good long time and I like it. Sometimes I think of Catfish & the Bottlemen, other times I think it is a little more pop-forward like a Day Glow or Ocean Alley from prior years.
Aussies, at first I was wondering if this was just going to be one of those bands where they were all from Brooklyn but the lead singer just happened to sound like a Brit. Four dudes in the band, and they churned out multiple EPs over the years before finally releasing Recency Bias in 2025. Their top streamer is form that disc - this is "Everything's Easy" with 10.2 million streams.
I think the guitar tone and the vocals are the most distinct about these guys - the guitar feels like it is almost just a guy chilling on the couch goofing around, not like someone very intentionally making a song. Just jangling along down there. And the vocals sound very much made for this time - I feel like I hear vocals like this a lot right now.
In "Chauffer" it sounds like he is repeatedly using a Harry Potter spell. I think he is saying "need nobody else around" but it sounds like he is trying to make a feather float. The second-biggest streamer is a 2020 single called "Keep." 7.9 million streams.
I don't know why this sound just screams GenAlpha, but it really does to me. Sounds like so many of the things that I hear my girls playing and enjoying. Not a bad thing at all, I think I just want a little more urgency to the music here and there. It is all so pleasant. That being said, sure, I like pleasant. Let's schedule this for 3pm on Sunday and I can go lounge in the grass and let it wash over me.
One Liner: His bio calls this Country-Fried Funky-Tonk Wikipedia Genre: no Wikipedia, but this is southern rock and country and Americana Home: Lafayette, GA (but now Nashville) Day: Friday
Thoughts: Pretty darned good. Like if Stapleton had a regular guy's voice. But a pretty good mix of country and rock that has been keeping me entertained this morning. He sniffs around the edge of jammy stuff here and there too. I dig it. Top track is "Georgia Dreamin'" with 488k streams.
Clover County
One Liner: Country that veers into a folky pop at times, but sounds great in either Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but country, Americana, folky pop Home: Athens, GA (via Orlando and many other spots) Day: Sunday
Thoughts: The first song kind of came at me like a Dayglow vibe, and then she kicks in the singing and it is alluring. I've been through the whole catalog (not a huge feat, relatively limited) and that holds throughout. Walks a fine line between country and folky pop, that sort of brings to mind people like Sierra Ferrell at times.
No Wikipedia, so I have to piece together a background from elsewhere. Her website bio says she was raised in Central Florida. According to Wikipedia, that is usually defined as Tampa to Orlando. Sounds like a deliciously trashy section of the world. She began songwriting at the age of 13, teaching herself to play on her dad's "collection of 1980's songbooks." The idea of a songbook today is hilarious. I had (maybe still have) one of Robert Earl Keen songs from when I thought I would play guitar. Until I tried playing the dang F chord. That one broke me.
A.G. Schiano is her real name. The name Clover County is an homage to the places she has lived. Orlando to Denver to Atlanta to Birmingham to Athens (to attend UGA). Thats a fun string of towns to me. But they don't seem especially prone to clovers? Ah, no, this is metaphorical: "“Clover County'' represents a state of mind, no matter where you’re planted you have the choice to grow." Are clovers especially hearty? Feels like weeds would be the heartiest and able to grow no matter what. I guess Weed County brings to mind a different vibe.
A couple of singles and then one 2024 EP called Porch Lights. To track is "Ultraviolet" from the EP, with 1.2 million streams.
That bright and sunny start is cool, and her voice comes in with a lilt of country but joins in on the bopping of the beat. By the chorus, she just sounds like she's singing a pop song. I like it. "Under These Conditions" is also on the new EP, and is her second-most streamed with 577k.
A little more stripped down, but the steel on the chorus and that piano joining in makes the song for me. That is a really nice song. I am going to share it with the wife right now.
I'd go watch this for sure.
Nathan Bess
One Liner: Another Zach Bryan-ish bro Wikipedia Genre: no Wikipedia, but this is southern rock and country and Americana Home: Charleston, WV Day: Friday
Thoughts: A full-time firefighter! That is pretty cool. Dude is very much reminding me of the Zach Bryan/Tyler Childers tree of spare, lo-fi country music. Two 2024 EPs are all that is available on Spotify, so he is pretty new to releasing tunes. It sounds good. Top track is "Somethin' About the Smell" with 7.1 million streams.
That is a real ass mustache right there. Damn! I never really considered whether cocaine would have a smell. I assume it does, so that drug dogs can ferret it out, but it seems like people just snort it away without checking out the scent. Sad!
Palmyra
One Liner: Like alt-country Dr. Dog Wikipedia Genre: no Wikipedia, but this is alt-country, bluegrass, indie folk Home: VA Day: Friday
Thoughts: My initial comparison was the Avett Brothers. Kind of has that sort of countrified, banjo-ized thing. But it also reminds me of Lukas Nelson. And some of the tunes made me think of Dr. Dog. They're a little all over the place. A couple EPs and one album, 2025's Restless. Top streamer was an early tune called "Happy Pills." 584k streams.
I was not expecting the lead singer to look like that. That is one where I feel like I hear Dr. Dog. I let this stuff play for a good bit today, and I liked it. Better than I expected.
Kevin Kraemer
One Liner: Catchy pop dance music Wikipedia Genre: no Wikipedia, but this is indie pop Home: Asbury Park, NJ Day: Friday
Thoughts: I'm way more bothered by the spelling of his last name than I should be. Also, this is butt-ass pop music and I need to hurry up and write so I can move on. I mean, that is too harsh. It is pretty catchy pop that seems like it would be fun to dance to. But it also feels like he is just another model-esque pop singer without anything under the surface. One track definitely bigger than the others - "Attention" has 15.4 million streams (and no other cracks 2 million ).
I do not want for him to point at me anymore. I’m sure that he is a lovely young man and that my daughters love these songs because of TikTok, but I do not want to see it.
Ryman
One Liner: Falsetto-fied indie pop kind of like a white Khalid Wikipedia Genre: no Wikipedia, but he called it barn pop. Sure. Home: Nashville Day: Sunday
Thoughts: Feels bold to name yourself after one of the iconic music venues in the US. He sort of reminds me of the Dayglow guy, or that Role Model fella who was at ACL last year. It isn't terrible, but it really isn't my thing. Top track is "Lose" from a 2025 single. 825k streams.
Very pretty tune. And I think this is definitely one of the better tunes in here - the low key, mild vibe here is much more enjoyable than when he is trying to make pop dance stuff. Would not go see this one.
Man, I gotta hurry the hell up. ACL is being announced next week, and that is going to be all consuming once it lands. I think I only have three other lines left to do, so let's get into it. I spent way too long enjoying the Flaming Lips...
Angus & Julia Stone
One Liner: Generic pop singer voice girl Wikipedia Genre: Folk rock, indie pop, Americana Home: Sydney Day: Friday
Thoughts: Love a good sibling band. I hope they actually like each other. The idea of my kids liking each other enough to tour the world and make good music would make me overjoyed. The sad piece of information here is that they have an older sister, Catherine, who is not a part of the band. Poor Catherine, back home in some Sydney suburb named Wallabyton doing book-keeping for a local barrister.
I've actually heard of Angus before, because his side project Dope Lemon came through ACL in 2023. I really liked what he was laying down in there.
But these two homies have released six albums as a duo, and won a handful of APRA and ARIA awards for their efforts. I like it. Kind of poppy, kind of folky, and their voices work well together with the two different tones. She kind of sounds like Lisa Loeb at times, he sounds like Mac DeMarco or Kurt Vile at times. It is honestly pretty pleasant to listen to all of this as I work. Top song is "Big Jet Plane" with a whopping 532 million streams.
It sounds like Post Malone covered that one, making it even more popular. Their 2014 album was actually produced by Rick Rubin, which is kind of dope. Pretty good stuff! I'd go watch it!
Cameron Whitcomb
One Liner: Supposedly country but actually crappy pop from an ex-American Idol contestant Wikipedia Genre: country, alternative country, folk rock, folk pop Home: British Columbia Day: Saturday
Thoughts: About 6 songs in, and not liking it. Like if Ed Sheeran was Imagine Dragons, if that makes sense. He competed on American Idol in 2022, and now has one album. I don't really understand calling this County. Doesn't sound like country to me...
Very Canadian origin story - left home at 17 and moved to something called Kamloops, where he began working on the Trans Mountain Pipeline. A friend introduced him to Johnny Cash, he found Tyler Childers' music, and he started to post videos of himself singing. I want to move on and stop listening to this. "Medusa" is his top track with 159.6 million streams.
It is fine. I am sure people who go watch it will find him to be a great performer. I will not.
Adam Ant
One Liner: One Hit Wonder of butt Wikipedia Genre: new wave, post-punk, alternative rock, dance-rock Home: London Day: Saturday
Thoughts: When I saw Adam Ant's name on the poster, I could immediately see his little Eddie Munster ass in my mind. But I had zero recollection of his music. But he's the "Goody Two Shoes" guy. I kind of think that song is butt, if I am being honest. Feels like the kind of song I probably loved when I was an annoying ass six year old boogie-ing around to it, but its pretty annoying listening to it right now.
Stuart Leslie Goddard is quite a name. His Wikipedia claims he has 10 UK top ten hits. I don't recognize anything after the first one. At first, he had a band called Adam and the Ants, but some producer stole his band and created Bow Wow Wow. He ended up becoming Adam Ant and finding some new bandmates. His Wikipedia is sooooo long. I ain't reading all of that for you, sorry. He kind of looks like Captain Jack Sparrow in a lot of these pictures though. He has also been an actor, appearing in stuff like the 1980 version of the Equalizer or Tales from the Crypt. I really am not enjoying his music.
Amos Lee
One Liner: If Norah Jones was a dude Wikipedia Genre: folk, soul, jazz, Americana, roots rock, country Home: Philly Day: Sunday
Thoughts: Man, I know one song from this guy because it is a banger. "Windows are Rolled Down" is a good ass song. But that tune is dwarfed on Spotify by the cheesy ass "Sweet Pea." 181.4 million.
Pretty sure that song was in a commercial or something. Ah yes, AT&T. His real name is Ryan Anthony Massaro. Weird that he had a normal ass name and just created some other normal ass name for his stage name. He's a Gamecock, and was a second grade teacher after college before getting his singing career on the road. Holy smokes - I swear I wrote the One Liner up above before reading it, but his Wikipedia says he has "been both lauded and dismissed as the 'male Norah Jones.'" This music is honestly really nice. The show might be a chill way to spend part of the afternoon (or it might be terribly boring, unclear).
Fitz & the Tantrums
One Liner: Fun ass pop rock Wikipedia Genre: indie pop, neo soul Home: L.A. Day: Sunday
Thoughts: They came through ACL in 2014, and I have also seen them at Stubb's a few years ago. Just a purely fun band full of good energy. For a while, they had gotten to be pretty annoying because they were on every radio station at all times. Because of this fact, I had grown tired of them and started to change the station/tune them out. But if you go listen to the excellent Moneygrabber (42 million streams):
, you’ll get a really great groovy rock thing with Hall or Oates mimicry singing over the top. Which one was Hall and which one was Oates? How did those two dudes just get in to the Hall of Fame? They totally remind me of Six Flags as a kid. I digress - F&tT is really fun music. "The Walker," "Out of My League," "Spark," "Don’t Gotta Work it Out," these are all well-made retro pop jams. I’m going to practice my Molly Ringwald dance and break it out fo sho during "Out of My League" (a truly astounding BILLION streams):
I think Fitz has the same hairdo as the AFI guy. Maybe they are the same guy? That would be awesome - and that story was broken right here first. Dibs on breaking that huge story.
Years ago, also at Stubbs, I saw that someone had scrawled "Fitz + the Tantrums! (with a star for the bottom of the exclamation point) 7/13/13 Stubbs <heart symbol> EK" inside of my port-o-potty. What an odd bit of graffiti to make sure to add to the port-o-potty. I'm imagining some drunk UT undergrad sitting down to pee, pouring her heart out to the teal wall of the port-o-john, then passing out for a couple of minutes before waking up and rolling back out to party.
Their self-named 2017 album was another big hit. Funny story, that one tenth or so of my readership already knows, is that a friend of mine has two twin boys, who are like 12. And those twin boys freaking LOVED themselves some Fitz and the Tantrums when they were little. They wanted to be Fitz for Halloween. They watched live Fitz shows in their free time. They know the name of the drummer for the band. I'm very jealous of this maneuver, as my kids wrinkle up their nose to any music that isn't the absolute most overplayed pop music at any given time. Taylor Swift or the godawful Chainsmokers! They're in. Zeppelin or Chilis, and they're yelling at me to change the station. I've done something terribly wrong in the raising of my children. Anyway, beyond my parenting shortcomings, this band is super fun. I saw them play ACL a few years back, and it is just a straight up massive dance party when this group starts blasting you with their good times. This 2017 album keeps the same vibe, lots of imminently danceable tracks and fun stuff ("HandClap" or "Complicated"), that really never slows down for any serious or slow jam tunes. Obviously, the big hit is "HandClap" with 457.5 million streams.
Quite a set of dancers in that video. Good song, very catchy and the kind of thing I think I could easily get behind jumping around to like a crazy person if seeing this band live. The album really sticks that same fun and danceable flavor - I also like "Fadeback." This thing is good.
I honestly did not know that they had more music - 2019's All the Feels, 2021's Head Up High, 2022's Let Yourself Free, 2024's Summer of Us, and 2025's Man on the Moon (so many more albums!) keep the same vibe going, although not much in the way of stream count for those.
Two maybe fun facts - the lead singer's last name is Fitzpatrick, and the other singer's last name is Scaggs. While poorly spelled, it still gives me a little charge of pleasure. Anyway, I hope I can see this one.
One Liner: Generic pop singer voice girl Wikipedia Genre: pop, country, trap, blues (that is a cursed group of genres) Home: Huntsville, AL Day: Saturday
Thoughts: She was at ACL in 2021, and I was not a fan when I listened. Here was my first paragraph of my review: "Pretty rare for me to do this, but I just had an instant visceral reaction of hate for this one. The second that her voice started to work on the Pop Starlet Voice(tm) lesson that she is going for, my stomach turned and I knew this was not going to be my jam. Luckily for me, only three songs to slog through with her nasally smearing her words together before I could move on. You should too."
That is really not very nice, Jack. I tried some more this morning and sadly, my initial read remains the final read. She got famous through TikTok, and then started doing songs with many other famous people like Jelly Roll and Koe Wetzel and Diplo and Teddy Swims and Gucci Mane. But it is annoying to me that she is at this level on the poster.
She became a star while still a teenager. She grew up in a small conservative town. She likes TikTok. In July 2021, she said this: "I've never even been to a concert before let alone actually performed at one, so my first ever concert experience is going to be my own which is wild!" Man, really makes it sounds exciting to see her perform! She apparently felt alienated in her small town and so she moved to Nashville and then ended up in L.A.
In case you feel the need, her initial single was "Upgrade," with 55.3 million streams.
While I do grin when she sings that they are going to have some ugly ass babies, it's the vocal tone that she uses here that makes me insane. It just sounds so contrived and fake. My daughter used to sound like this sometimes when she sang, because she was trying to copy other generic pop stars of the moment. Ugh. Her biggest streamer is more of a trap R&B thing and makes me want to run away. "Blue Strips" is I guess about the anti-counterfeit plastic inside of $100 bills.
Nope.
Of Monsters and Men
One Liner: Iceland's answer to Mumford & Sons Wikipedia Genre: indie folk, chamber pop, folk pop, folk rock, indie rock Home: Reykjavik, Iceland Day: Friday
Thoughts: I just want to add their names here because of how guttural-growl-rich they are: lead singer and guitarist Nanna BryndÃs Hilmarsdóttir, singer and guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, lead guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, and bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson. When I was really into Tom Clancy books I remember working out what my Russian name would be and being very entertained with myself.
The lead singer was previously performing solo as Songbird but asked some friends to help her perform at the 2010 MúsÃktilraunir, an annual Battle of the Bands in Iceland. Raggi came up with the name, as an allusion to fairy tales and telling stories. They won, and off they went. Wikipedia attributes their popularity to the fact that Mumford and Sons had just blown up with their new take on the stomp/clap folky rock movement.
2011's My Head is an Animal was their debut, and it was huge. 6 of their top ten songs on Spotify are still from that disc, 15 years later. Songs from it were featured in movies, iPhone commercials, TV shows, etc. and they played a ton of festivals. BUt the major hit was "Little Talks. 1.3 BILLION streams.
Great song. Totally overplayed on most formats of radio. Thought it was the Lumineers for a while. I also thought this band was the same thing as The Head and the Heart for a while. I ain't too smart, but there was a wave of this kind of sound after Mumford that confused me until I straightened them all out. Although, one member of the band quit not long after this came out, saying she was tired of playing this song five times a day. That is sort of funny.
That first album also boasts several other tunes with hundreds of millions of plays, including one of my favorites, called "Dirty Paws," at 56 million.
Starts off with that spare beat and picking, and later erupts into a powerful singalong that lyrically reminds me of Rush's "Trees." When the birds join up with the beast for the big battle, you know who is going to win. And its not the maples who want more sunlight.
Also of note, and maybe just to me, they appeared in two episodes of Game of Thrones as medieval ass musicians. HODOR!
Their second album (2015's Beneath the Skin), had a big single called "Crystals," that got heavy radio play. It is good, but has a line in the chorus that makes me think of the drink Crystal Light every single time.
OMOM are HUGE fans of peach lemonade Crystal Light. "Wooooahhoo, covet your Crystal Liiiiight!" Be careful, or Ragnar will steal your Snapple too. This song, like the rest of the album, is good, broad, powerful, arena-ready indie made to pump up a crowd. Almost every single song includes at least one "woooahhhhoo" kind of line that the crowd will be able to join in with the band on. Speaking of which, I am liking "Black Water" and "Wolves Without Teeth" very much. And "Organs" is a slow burning, wistful orchestral about pulling yourself apart for lost love that leaves the arena-ready rocker mold in a good way.
They apparently released two albums since, 2019's Fever Dream and 2025's All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade (so they hate Disney?) but none of those seem to have made much of an impression by streaming numbers. I just tried them, and they have fleeting moments of Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, and Bon Iver. Not terrible by any means, but not especially memorable in my mind. I'd probably be talked into checking this out so long as it doesn't interfere with something better.
The Flaming Lips
One Liner: Truly weird shit from OKC, but they have some great stuff tucked in there Wikipedia Genre: Neo-psychedelia, psychedelic rock, alternative rock, experimental rock, noise pop, psychedelic pop Home: Oklahoma City, OK Day: Friday
Thoughts: Off the bat, if you don't agree with me that "Do You Realize??" is a freaking amazing and perfect song, then we have beef. Just a lovely set of lyrics tinged with truth and sadness. "And instead of saying all of your goodbyes / Let them know you realize that life goes fast / It's hard to make the good things last / You realize the sun doesn't go down / It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round." Willie Nelson did a cover of that tune a few years back and it made me pay closer attention to the words and love it even more.
I had the chance to see them live one time - a free SXSW show at Auditorium Shores. It was terribly disappointing, because they took the stage and announced that they had just released a brand new album and planned to play that from start to finish. So, I got none of the songs I wanted to hear, just a new weird album that no one knew. The energy in the crowd went to zero immediately.
The band's name has several origin stories: "One possibility is that it was inspired by the 1953 feature film Geraldine, in which comedian Stan Freberg sings several songs, including one named "Flaming Lips". Another possible source is from the 1964 Shirley MacLaine film What a Way to Go! in which Gene Kelly's character stars in a film titled Flaming Lips. However, according to an article in the September 16, 1993, issue of Rolling Stone, Mark and Wayne came up with the name as a reference to a rumor about a high school classmate who contracted genital herpes after receiving cunnilingus from a partner with active cold sores." Gross!
Their first album is interesting. From 1986. Almost like a Replacements sound - indie rock and a smidge of punk power. It is kind of weird, but nothing like where they go later. Well, it delves a smidge into trippy stuff, but mostly just straight indie rock. At the same time, I like it. But very few streams for those tunes.
Then the second disc, 1990's In a Priest Driven Ambulance, sounds more like what you expect - he's doing that high-straining voice and there is weird shit happening in the background of these songs. 1992's Hit to Death in the Future Head has a great album name. Definitely more electrified, more psych-forward. Still pretty fun. Kinda sounds like Dinosaur Jr sometimes too. And then the final song is 30 minutes of a very bad noise loop that will make you insane.
1993's Transmissions From the Satellite Heart is where they got some notoriety, mainly in the form of "She Don't Use Jelly." 57.5 million streams.
Maaaaaaaagazines. That song was apparently used in Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed, and Beavis and Butthead, getting it some notice, so that the band ended up touring with the Chili Peppers. 1995's Clouds Taste Metallic isn't great for me. And 1997's Zaireeka is where they really let the freak flag fly - the album came in four discs, and was intended to be heard by playing all four disc simultaneously on four different CD players. So, trying to just listen to it on Spotify is a very unfulfilling experience.
And then their top two albums popped out - 1999's The Soft Bulletin and 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. The latter is the one that I love the most out of all of these albums - has a Beck's Odelay sense of whimsy combined with some genuinely pretty songs and weird shit. Includes "Do You Realize??" and "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1" and "Flight Test," all of which are great. I think they will be fun live. But both of these albums caught mainstream success.
Right about here, Steven Drozd went into rehab for heroin. Which seems like a good idea since he had almost lost an arm due to an abscess created by his needle action. 2003's Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell feels like a b-sides collection from Yoshimi. But 2006's At War With the Mystics is cool, in that they seem to go back to the pre-synth-heavy weird stuff and be organically weird.
But then stuff starts to get reaaaaal weird. Embryonic, Heady Fwends, The Terror, 7 Skies H3, and this next one I fully reviewed a few years back, it gets way harder to just enjoy for me.
"The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody. These dudes are so weird. I liked the weirdness on Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but I haven't been able to get behind their stuff ever since. The closest this album comes to that same trippy, feel-unsure-to-be-happy rock is "The Castle." That isn't the most popular track, because Miley Cyrus sings on one called "We a Family," so hipster nerds have been listening to that instead. But I play you the one I like.
That video is annoying. And no matter how much she cried cartoons and prayed, her brain could not be rebuilt. No way. No way. No way. I'll let this one go back to the weird depths of the band's brains."
Some of their songs on Spotify are annoying - like, they list someone else's album as being theirs. So, you are trying to check out the catalog, and find yourself listening to something called Sparrow Sleeps that is lullaby renditions of their songs, or something called Nell that is an album by someone named Nell with the Lips as the backing band. GTFO. Just give me the tunes bro.
2020's American Head is actually pretty nice.
I think I will just hope that they play the old school hits and leave the weird recent stuff out of it. We'll see. But I am surprised by how much I like the very old parts of the catalog.
The War on Drugs
One Liner: Top notch indie rock band with a heavy touch of melancholy and classic rock flourishes Wikipedia Genre: Indie rock, heartland rock, neo-psychadelia, Americana Home: Philly Day: Friday
Thoughts: They last came to ACL in 2022. I like this band. I've been listening to them for a while, and have always enjoyed. I wonder if I saw them at the 2012 ACL and that is where I first heard their stuff? I can't recall by now.
The band started when frontman Adam Granduciel met Kurt Vile in Philly. Both of them had recently moved to town, and they hooked up and started writing and playing together. They started playing as War on Drugs in 2005, with the name coming from a friend "over a couple bottles of red wine and a few typewriters when we were living in Oakland." Granduciel claims it was either that or The Rigatoni Danzas.
Barrel of Batteries was their 2008 EP debut. It is very DIY-sounding, raw and unpolished. Claims to have six songs, but three of those are tiny little ditties that don't amount to squat. Not an auspicious debut, I would not have kept up with them if that was my first exposure to the band. Later that year, they released Wagonwheel Blues, which incorporated the three songs from the EP into an album. Also not great. After that album, Kurt Vile bailed on them to do his solo stuff (in fact most of the members bailed here).
2010 brought us Future Weather and then 2011 brought along Slave Ambient. From their cover art, they look related. Future Weather has a song or two where you can start to hear their angle to become Springsteen-esque, but then by the fourth song it goes back into more of that DIY type sound. The final too songs are kind of weird stuff that I don't much like. This isn't the stuff that made me like them later on down the road. Funny thing is that their Wikipedia doesn't even list Future Weather as existing. It just says that they put out Slave Ambient in this time. Slave Ambient is better, but still doesn't get to the level where they will get in a few more years. The top track on there is called "Baby Missiles," and it was actually on both Future Weather and Slave Ambient. 11.5 million streams.
I don't know if Springsteen ever did anything quite so peppy. Kind of sounds like Dire Straits' "Walk of Life." Pretty good. But I'm telling you, the good stuff is yet to come.
2014's Lost in the Dream popped up in multiple year-end top album lists that year, and I said: "After one listen, it is really good - sounds like a Ryan Adams album with some Springsteen sax and Cure synth. Wow, no, seriously, after listening again, I'm 90% sure this is a Ryan Adams album. A really good one, but still." A few days later, I said: "I agree it was good, although after about 10 listens now, I think this may be more David Gray than Ryan Adams. Either way, it is a really nice album." Isn't it fun to just rehash what you previously didn't read that I said on this blog? Super fun. I should just quote myself all the time. Anyway, totally sticking by my David Gray comparison. This is good music that sad, old KGSR is going to play to death to the few people out there who haven't yet figured out that KUTX is the actual sound of Austin. "Under the Pressure" and "Red Eyes" are both really excellent songs. Since that time, "Red Eyes" has become his top streamer overall, with 191.4 million streams.
You hear those Cure/Killers synths? Really a good tune - the driving backbone makes it unstoppable.
A Deeper Understanding is the next album, in 2017. By now, I start to realize that he not only reminds me of David Gray and Springsteen, but now I also get Bob Dylan vibes - with tunes that sound very much influenced by classic rock. When I reviewed this album a few years ago, I actually said that I had "reviewed him a few years back when he came to ACL," BUT I CAN'T FIND THAT REVIEW! WTF man. This album is generally pretty relaxed, but still rock edged, and I can't shake the thought of Dylan anymore. This is "Holding On," with 53.8 million streams.
Kicks in like a Springsteen song, with the bells ringing and the music ready to be used on a road trip mixtape immediately. My God I'm such a softie too, that damn video got me right up to the edge of tearing up over the superintendent from Coming to America losing his wife but having a good day reintroducing himself to his town. Criminy. But the tunes are good, a lot of them have that same driving feeling, and I repeatedly think that the organ/ synth is just about to start playing the lick from "Walk of Life." Good album, I like it all.
Next is 2021's I Don't Live Here Anymore. As I listened to one of the songs on here - "I Don't Wanna Wait" - a great comp dawned on me. For some people, this will sound like the kiss of death, but as a lover of Bryan Adams from back in the day, I think saying that this sounds like classic Bryan Adams is actually a fine compliment. That dude could write a great turn of phrase, play the guitar, and craft up a pop rock nugget or three that still sound great today. And then the rest of the songs sound like Dylan got a backing band who only want to do songs that would be good to drive to. Which also might sound like an insult, but I don't mean it as one. I love driving songs. "Harmonia's Dream" makes me think of Springsteen and the Killers and some never-created 80's band who were never featured on a soundtrack for E.T. Lots of synth riffage. I'd really like to see this band live - between this album and that last one I find them to be a great version of rock. The top track is the title song, and it features nice background vocals from Lucius. "I Don't Live Here Anymore" has 42.6 million streams.
Between that guitar solo at the start and the synths, you get that immediate 80's feel. And seeing the singer, it makes me realize that I sometimes mix up this band with Strand of Oaks, and yet they are definitely different bands. A lot of these songs are sad, or at least feature sadness as part of the lyrics. That one up above, and even more so, "Victim," makes me sad. Maybe my mind is trained to remember that 80's sound and think of the things I'm missing from that era, or maybe these songs just really do have some melancholy. Not sure which, but I'm enjoying the sound.
There is a 2024 live album called Live Drugs Again, so I have been enjoying that one to check out what they will sound like in person!
I'd absolutely go see them play if I have the space. Which reminds me that they still have not released a schedule yet. Buttholes! Stop drinking bourbon and release the schedules!
