Photo by Courtney Chavanell
Every month we turn the spotlight on a new release from a Texas artist with a series of weekly features that give you a sneak peek at the new music and some insight into the artist behind it. Find the full Artist of the Month feature rundown here.
For the better part of a decade, it felt like Austin’s Frank Smith was constantly reintroducing itself. It’s tough when you have to remind folks that you’re a band, not a man, but frontman Aaron Sinclair is no stranger to reinvention. Over the course of nine albums (and a move from Boston to Austin), folk and country touches have dominated his songwriting, but he sneaks in more jagged sounds with every release. Earlier this year, Frank Smith took up the simpler moniker A. Sinclair, and the band embraced this change to firmly plant itself in the “rock” category. Their debut album Pretty Girls mixes new tracks with a few Frank Smith reworkings, like “How Many Ways.” Led by a buoyant keyboard melody, the song is all about forward momentum. No more misdirection–this is a band that’s confidently stepping out of the shadows.
