There is something extraordinary running through the mood fabric of Curtis McMurtry‘s The Hornet’s Nest. No formula, no concrete parameter, and superbly, no predictable indulgences. From the moment the album begins with only McMurtry’s vocals and a stark banjo on the brief opener, “Hard Blue Stones,” right on through to the final sweetly darkened and forlorn realization of “Silver World,” it pulsates with an irregular heartbeat, a complex nest of entrances and exits humming and vibrating with a strange life. That literal/figurative nest is a damn work of art, but dangerous if one is presumptuous enough to believe it can be contained. One is faced with more than a single sting. And the pain can be almost unmeasurable.
Your Austin Music Minute host is a fan. Could you tell? Today’s #LoveAustinMusicMonth AMM spotlight is on Curtis McMurtry, who performs tonight at Geraldine’s, 605 Davis St., inside Hotel Van Zandt. The music starts at 9:30 p.m. Recommended.
-Photography by Pavel Mezihorak for KUTX.
