Indie music in Austin, Texas: there’s a lot of it. You’ve got indie rock, indie pop, a little bit of indie electronic, and my personal favorite, indie folk. And that’s strictly due to the incorporation of acoustic instruments, something Austin duo Deer Fellow excels at. Made up of violinist-pianist-vocalist Alyssa Kelly and guitarist-vocalist Matt Salois, Deer Fellow’s been grazing local grounds (and far beyond) since 2016.
The pair’s always shared complementary threads of creativity, but nowadays, especially after all those years collaborating in close company, Salois’ and Kelly’s respective singular talents have become intertwined well past the point of separation. That Shining-level cross-strand connection came to a head with the release of their debut EP Words Unsaid last year and is sure to continue on their upcoming sophomore record Unraveling.
Unraveling follows a successful summer tour for Deer Fellow, who are set to hot-hoof across central Texas over the next week. This four-stop stint includes appearances in Manchaca and San Antonio plus a Sofar Sounds curation in both Houston and Austin, which kicks off this Friday in the St. Elmo district. But will those shows be Deer Fellow’s only output this winter? Frayed knot.
Today Deer Fellow premiered Unraveling’s lead single and title-adjacent track, “Unravel”. What begins as bare bones guitar-and-vocals seamlessly unweaves into serene strings, call-and-response countermelodies, subtle drums in just over three minutes. It’s poignantly incandescent, so fair warning: If you’re already in an emotionally fragile spot at the moment, “Unravel” might just tear you to shreds.
