Font is the KUTX Artist of the Month for April 2024, powered by PNC Bank.
For all the national and international talent that descends on Austin every SXSW, it was a local band that blew me away. I missed Font’s performance at Scholz but caught them that evening at the Ballroom. What I saw was a young band full of ideas, pushing in lots of directions and completely connecting with the crowd. It was an amazing feat, considering Font only has two songs out, with a third releasing on May 1. But all that unfamiliarity didn’t matter. This is a band that thrives on newness, on pushing boundaries.
Formed during the pandemic, Font features two drummers and lots of electronic effects alongside their sharp-angled guitars. They could be lumped in with the post-punk revival, but I hear a lot of dance influences too: songs are rhythmically-forward, tricky but rooted in making you move. They seem to sit right on the edge of joy and rage, which makes Font completely absorbing as a live band.
This week on My KUTX, singer/guitarist Thom Waddill and drummer Jack Owens are the guest DJs. They dig deep into the many varied influences that make Font so exciting: the rhythmic intensity of Radiohead and Talking Heads, the pop abstraction of Caroline Polachek, and hey, why not some Beyoncé for good measure? Hear Font’s My KUTX on Saturday, April 20 at 6 p.m. or listen anytime right here.
Playlist:
- Blood – “Primitive Priest”
- Women – “Shaking Hand”
- black midi – “Years Ago”
- Radiohead – “Morning Mr Magpie”
- Flying Lotus – “me Yesterday//Corded”
- Talking Heads – “I Zimbra”
- Caroline Polachek – “Pretty In Possible”
- Animal Collective – “Daily Routine”
- Stereolab – “Diagonals”
- Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
- Wayne Shorter – “Ponta de Areia”
