There’s a ton of iconic music adjacent to the 1977 punk explosion, intuitively categorized as “proto-punk” and “post-punk”. And while you could argue discrepancies outweigh similarities between The Stooges’ Raw Power, Television’s Marquee Moon, Gang of Four’s Entertainment!, and XTC’s Black Sea, one word seems to encapsulate the shared aesthetic among protos and posties: “angular”.
Of course, since the start of the ’80s, that crusty concrete-encased counterculture has helped inform new wave, grunge, and eventually the trebly indie rock riffs that turned acts like The Strokes into household names. It’s intriguing because nowadays some refer to The Stooges’ style as “garage rock”, and yet – despite punk’s many offspring (hardcore, riot grrrl, anti-folk, etc.) – the term “post-punk” is alive, well, and readily-applicable.
Austin has its fair share of contemporary post-punk purveyors, including a quartet who got together in 2019 – a full four decades after Gang of Four’s daring debut – Ragabash. Ragabash released their first-ever studio single, “Heartache” earlier this spring, showcasing a stabbing and distorted offkilter style. For their debut album (due out this Fall), the group’s entrusted production duties with Grammy-winner Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn, The White Stripes, Modest Mouse, etc.), which’ll likely lend an extra sense of accessibility to Ragabash’s crowd-pleasing organized chaos and all-hands-on-deck approach to vocal harmonies.
Ragabash’s sophomore installment arrives with a single release show 11pm tomorrow night at The 13th Floor alongside openers Sweet Slacks, Mr. Kat, and DJ Dead Flowers. So before you ascend to the 13th Floor, immerse yourself in Ragabash’s appreciation for that short sweet space after staccato sequences, with “Daydream”. Its trumpet solo, bold dynamics, and instrumental interplay are sure to keep you lucid well past hump day and right into the weekend.
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