Julie

One Liner: I guess maybe I am a shoegaze guy now?
Wikipedia Genre: Nu gaze, shoegaze, noise pop, slacker rock
Home: L.A.

Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 15
Day: Sunday
Weekend Two Only.

American Express Stage at 2:30.

Thoughts:  I had been expecting another pop starlet sort of thing, and am pleasantly surprised to hear immediate fuzzy guitars and bashing drums.  I get to let this one play for a while.

The names of the three band members are sorta weird, they list them as so: Keyan MTA (aka Keyan Pourzand) – vocals, guitar, Alex Brady (aka Alexandria Elizabeth) – vocals, bass, Dillon Lee – drums.  No clue why they have changed up their names.  Teen Vogue has an article about them!  That is cute!  The first paragraph is entirely about guessing the band members' star signs.  But at least it gives me some useful info - Lee and Pourzand met in high school in a suburb in Orange County.  Pourzand was raised on Middle Eastern music, while Lee had always tried to avoid his mom's great taste in 90's alt rock.  They met Brady and recruited him to play bass, and the band was born.  They moved to L.A. when Pourzand and Brady enrolled at the Southern California Institute for Architecture (which is odd? But they later dropped out).

The music is heavy at times, a little dark and moody, and I like it when both singers join on a track, more than the ones where only one or the other sings.  Only one album, 2024's my anti-aircraft friend, and none of the tracks on there have become their top tunes.  Which is too bad, really, because some of them are very tasty.  "catalogue" is the top one from there with 4.4 million streams.

Sort of smells like The Breeders at first.  I like the whole thing - the vocals are a little mysterious and muted, the drums are raucous, the guitar very insistent.  I also like the artwork on the album - not that bit above - that is like a sketch of a skinny girl with a big guitar in hand.  Their top track overall is their first single, 2020's "flutter" with 47.2 million streams.

Wall of guitars action right there.  So much dissonance that I think it sounds cool.  The track that has made me look up from my work multiple times to see what song is playing is called "clairbourne practice."  The riffs in that one are heavy and tasty, just straight out of the Buzz Bin from the 90's.

I think the booking people hate me.  Yet another band that I really like coming only for weekend two.  Dumb.

Hotline TNT

One Liner: Wall-of-guitars, shoegaze-adjacent, but really tuneful and great
Wikipedia Genre: shoegaze, alternative rock, noise pop
Home: NYC

Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 17
Day: Saturday
Weekend One Only.

T-Mobile Stage at 12:45 (freaking lame time of day, man)

Thoughts:  Oh, this is good.  I was judging the cover of the book and expecting some explosive punk or something, but instead it is a sort of shoe-gazey rock and roll.  Makes me think of that Teenage Bandwagon album from like 30 years ago.  Which I really liked.  And lookie there, Wikipedia also calls them shoegaze.  Also says this style is characterized by frontman Will Anderson's wall-of-sound layering of distorted guitars.  I can hear that, but this is also very tuneful and catchy in a way that I don't necessarily associate with the shoegaze I hear on the Sunday morning radio program.  He claims that Loveless, by My Bloody Valentine, was a big influence.  I don't know that album.

Anderson was apparently previously part of a number of small indie rock bands I have never heard of, like Happy Diving, Weed, and Crazy Bugs.  He was feeling burned out at one point, while pursuing a masters in education, and considered quitting music.  Instead, he formed this band, where he would be the sole constant member and a rotating group of other members.  he apparently vowed to never explain the meaning of the name.  Which is lame.  Two albums - the first was 2021's Nineteen in Love.  Anderson somewhat foolishly released the album as one long YouTube video where you could not select individual tracks, as a statement against streaming services and their damage to the album form.  But, shockingly, the album didn't do too well.  I just tried to find it and it was not apparent after 8 seconds of hunting.  Oh well.  

After that, as he was touring with other bands, Jack White's Third Man Records came calling and asking to sign him to the label.  After hearing from other bands that he would retain a lot of creative freedom, he went for it.  2023's Cartwheel is the next disc that came out (but they are supposedly preparing to release a new one this summer).  Both Paste and Pitchfork gave it favorable reviews.

Stream count is pretty low, despite how much I like this stuff.  Only two tracks with more than a million, and both are on that 2023 disc.  "I Thought You'd Change" is the top one with 1.3 million streams.

Sure, that is a lot of guitars, but when I think of a "wall of noise" it is not that tuneful.  Kind of a Bob Mould vibe in there too.  The video makes me laugh too, those two goofy shitheads bouncing around while everyone else wishes they'd bugger off.

For what it's worth, I also tried out Weed, and it was pretty cool too.  A little heavier.  One of the new singles, which is their most popular track right now, and so likely will be on the new disc, is even more tuneful.  "Julia's War" has 234k streams as of now.

Yeah, that one jams.  The na-na-na-na bits took me off guard at first, but now I like them.  Does the lead singer sound a little like the They Might Be Giants vocals?  That video made me laugh too.  These dudes are goofballs.  Another new single, "Candle," has even fuzzier guitars, but is likewise catchy.

I'd absolutely check it out.

Shooks (2023)

One Liner: Local rock that sounds like UK alternative

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia - alternative rock, shoegaze
Home: Austin

Poster Position: Level 4 (22)
Weekend One Only.
Saturday.

Thoughts:  These dudes were here in 2021, and back then I noted how limited their streaming catalog was (five songs), which made it hard to really get a feel for them.  Well, two years later they've really stepped up their output and now boast all of nine songs on Spotify for me to check out.  

British-sounding rock, with more than a little shoegaze sound woven into the Arctic Monkeys-ish sound.  There is a musician based in the Netherlands named Shook, and an American country singer named Sarah Shook, and a township in rural Minnesota, but the last time they came to the Fest the only thing online about this band is a crappy Facebook page. 

They used to play a residency at the Continental Club, which is pretty legit.  Back in 2021, they claimed that a full album was getting its final touches, but that apparently didn't work out because all they offer on Spotify are singles and EPs.  Their band name origin story is terrible: "So, uh. I was driving with a friend ... we were goofing off driving around Zilker and he said “oh that’s where the wooks live”, and I thought he said “shooks” and I said, “that’s actually a really good band name,” and he said “that’s a terrible band name,” and I said “well too bad I’m calling my band that,”… there you go."  Wow.

Their top song is "Rum!" with 40k streams on Spotify.  But at least they did a real video for it!

Dig that guitar fuzz.  That lead singer should be modeling things that require an inch-deep crease in the chin.  That is a serious butt chin.  If they ever get noticed, he's going to be the heart throb of the band in 4 seconds.

Hold on, I just realized that the lead singer is Charlie Sexton's son.  Holy crap.  Well, of course he is a good musician who can play guitar.  Jeez.  Talk about hiding the lede in every article I read about the band...  Their most recent single is called "O2," and was released in 2022.  18k streams.

I dig what they have going on.  Nothing flashy, not revelatory, but enjoyable rock and roll action.

Pretty good stuff - although like with many of the bands at this time, I doubt I'll be at the park by noon on Sunday.  Probably not going to see them, but they're definitely interesting.  If they had a spot later in the day - I'd easily give them a shot.

Cigarettes After Sex

One Liner: Dreamy pop rock that inexplicably has a jillion streams.

Wikipedia Genre: Dream pop, shoegaze, ambient pop, slowcore, indie rock

Home: El Paso

Poster Position: Level 2 (3) 
Both Weekends.
Sunday.

Thoughts:  This is definitely one of those moments when I feel left behind by the world around me.  I was driving up to Dallas a few weeks ago, and trying to remember some things from the ACL poster that I could throw on to try out as I drove.  This band's name is very memorable, so I tossed it on.  And oh. my. good. Lord. it was time for a nap.  How in the absolute hell could this band have BILLIONS of streams?  Without adding them up exactly, their top ten tunes have either more than or close to two billion combined streams.  And yet the music sounds like someone really liked that one Mazzy Star song and just kept trying to recreate it.  How is this so popular and what is it doing on the third line of my ACL poster?

Also, El Paso?  Huh?  Also, the lead singer is apparently a dude named Greg Gonzalez, despite this very much sounding like a woman doing the singing.  Fascinating.  Gonzalez apparently recorded the first EP in a stairwell at the University of Texas El Paso.  He then moved to Brooklyn and released his first proper album in 2017.  Wikipedia says that they cite Cowboy Junkies as an influence, and I totally hear that as well.  Still I have no clue what this is doing up here on the third line.  I'd normally blame TikTok, but I can't imagine a bunch of sadcore slow ass videos of people mouthing these depressing-sounding tunes?

Top tune is "Apocalypse," from that first 2017 album, with 796.3 million streams.  How?

I honestly cannot believe that is a dude.  I hope that is not somehow sexist or something, but for real that is really wild that this is not a droll French lady who is singing these lyrics like she doesn't care.  The other top songs are mostly from that oldest album, so let's get you something newer.  Most recent single is 2022's "Pistol," which inexplicably has 47 million streams.

I swear each song just sounds like it is the same song that I just heard.  Soft-focus guitar and his voice meandering gently around over the top as though he's trying to not frighten a timid puppy.  I DON'T GET IT!  

I just googled "why is Cigarettes after Sex popular," and the majority of responses to that are very literal.  But the Indian version of Cosmo seriously published these sentences: "Sensual, calming and sometimes erotic, their music is practically addictive. You can’t listen to one song, just one time. Right when you hit play on K for the fifth time, you know you are down a rabbit hole thinking about the one that got away. Their tender pop beats and charming lyrics, that aren’t rooted in some unachievable fantasy but are inspired by frontrunner Greg Gonzalez’s (lead singer and founder of Cigarettes After Sex) memories, make this band the whole package."  Blech.

Definitely do not plan to catch this show.  If this is your jam, I hope it is the greatest show of boring depression you have ever experienced!