What started off a decade back with Suicide Pistols and Southbound Drive has since changed course almost entirely for Austin’s Scott Collins. The guitarist’s raw talent had already taken him on national tours and landed him major commercial spots as well as local awards, all before founding his very own Chicken Run Studios in 2015. Shortly afterwards, Collins formed his very own backing band and capitalized on his longstanding, fruitful friendship with Grammy-Nominee Chris “Frenchie” Smith to produce the 2018 EP Roadmaps. And while Roadmaps charted a path of raw alt-rock, his upcoming sophomore album headed north travels in a decidedly more polished manner.

True to its name, headed north experiments with tones near-polar opposite of his early work with Southbound Drive, and you’ll be able to check out the full thing at the very end of May. You’ll have to wait a bit longer to catch Collins in concert (literally, thanks to his signature “trust fall” stage gimmick) but today you can enjoy the second of five new tracks off headed north, “Sink”!

–Jack Anderson

KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.

Going back to the 2013 debut Exit, guitarist-vocalist Daniel Fernandez has been taking full measures to bring psych-pop and folk-rock to new listeners under his project The Halfways. Since Exit, Fernandez has recruited five additional members and reformed The Halfways sound to “psychedelic noir”, beautifully blending acoustic and electric, English and Spanish, and folksy and heady.

At the tail end of the past decade Fernandez began experimenting with electronic music (particularly minimalist acid house) under the name Synthemesc, and even more recently The Halfways took a yearlong hiatus. That time wasn’t all spent behind the keyboard crushing beats though, since Fernandez has just shared two songs written while wondering if and when he’d get to play with the full group again, and recorded in a similar air during quarantine, the two new tracks on Your Name are impressive to say the least. They both have a nice bounce to the tempo, a good mix of acoustic and electric guitar, and of course, Fernandez’s pop-influenced, effects-heavy vocals. Check out Your Name whenever you’ve got the 8 ¹⁄₂ minutes, starting off with its title track! 

–Jack Anderson

KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.

Although his name might not ring a bell right off the bat, you’ve heard Hanni El Khatib‘s sharp guitar work on recordings by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Wu Tang Clan’s GZA and solo act Freddie Gibbs. Under his own name, however, the L.A.-based songwriter’s released four solo albums, exploring a full spectrum of rock ‘n’ roll across punk, blues, indie, and soul. On top of steady critical acclaim, El Khatib’s solo rock has also been heard in major television commercials (including a Super Bowl ad) and series, as well as a movie and video game, but his success ultimately led to alcohol and tour exhaustion, and eventually depression and anxiety.

Having reunited with close friend and producer Leon Michels (Lana Del Rey, Travis Scott, Eminem, etc.), Hanni El Khatib’s not only tossed the bottle out the window but also any dedication to the garage rock sound that made him famous. Instead, FLIGHT finds El Khatib and Michels experimenting with psychedelia and sample-heavy hip-hop, evoking classic records like Paul’s Boutique, Odelay, Donuts, or Madvillainy while maintaining the singer’s robust vocals. The rejuvenating LP is out on Friday, and you can pump up your hump day energy with the reborn version of Hanni El Khatib on, “ALIVE”!

–Jack Anderson

Support KUTX’s ability to bring you closer to the music. Donate today.

Fans of Hello Wheels won’t waste any time identifying singer-guitarist Peter Shults and drummer-vocalist Josh Halpern, and while they still continue the stomp-folk fun in Hello Wheels, they’ve also cut out a decidedly different duo effort, Teddy Glass. These Studio 1A veterans’ fuzz-infused psychedelic R&B-soul won over a completely new fan base with their debut Nights and Weekends, and speaking of weekends, last Friday Teddy Glass broke out a new standalone single.

It’s a hazy, incandescent arrangement that’s ideal for today’s stormy weather, so warm up with “Wannabe”!

–Jack Anderson

KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.

The moral panic of “Satanic ritual abuse” is well behind us and certainly eclipsed now by the COVID-19 pandemic, so escapism is not surprisingly in high-demand right now. And what’s to stop you from upping the ante from “escapist” to “occultist”? For New York-based singer and certified tarot reader Syd Silvair, absolutely nothing.

Silvair’s daytime divinations definitely fuel her mystical and macabre lyrical character akin to Stevie Nicks, but unlike the White Witch’s idiosyncratic contralto, Syd Silvair’s breathy vocals on vintage-sounding disco art-pop make for a more sanguine sound. Last week Syd Silvair shared her debut EP, Reverie, cast with the same archetypes and mysticism involved in her 9-to-5 across four bold tracks, each inspired by a specific tarot card. You can start interpreting the dreamy four-track with the final draw on Reverie, inspired by the Temperance card, “Heroine”!

–Jack Anderson

Support KUTX’s ability to bring you closer to the music. Donate today.