by rudyards | May 24th, 2014
Brown Whörnet (Austin, TX)
https://www.brownwhornet.com/
“Austin’s Brown Whörnet is a band that prolifically encapsulates all that is good about not spending too much time on a single idea. The seven-man, one-woman collective hopscotches their way across musical boundaries like a barefoot kid on hot pavement. Whether they’re riffing on punk, metal, funk, jazz, film scores, or even klezmer music, Brown Whörnet attacks each passage with a vociferous intensity that seldom fails to keep an audience at attention.” – Austin Chronicle
” In addition to displaying promiscuous technical proficiency and toilet humor, Austin’s Brown Whornet curse the pope, tweak racial humor, and make hamburgers unappealing forever. They claim to have written more than a hundred “songs” over the past couple years, so their set list may not sound exactly like their latest self-released CD (also called Brown Whornet), but mangled free jazz, luv-me-baby R & B, parodically straight hardcore, and something that sounds like Yes on a boom box whose batteries are dying are all in their arsenal” – Chicago Reader
“Noodly new wave instrumentals, crunchy and menacing prog rock-outs, aberrant sound collages, a cappella doo-wop deviations, and demented sideshow accompaniments – Brown Whornet’s got to be the best (worst?) thing for a hangover since pickles and Coke. The Austin, Texas, eight piece has played with the likes of Daniel Johnston, Melt Banana, Mr. Quintron, TFUL282, and Wesley Willis, and if that’s not testimony enough, last time they were local they provided the accompaniment to Chicken John’s puppet-exploding, worm-swallowing, poultry-hypnotizing Cirkus Redickuless…” – SF Weekly
Churchwood (Austin, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/joefishdoerr
Churchwood performs a vital and much-needed musical mission on their self-titled Saustex Records debut album: Saving the blues from the blahs and numerous other crimes and afflictions. Hailing from Austin, Texas, a city rightfully accused of being “The Boring White Blues Capital of the World,” the ingenious quintet kick the lazy butt of blues music into the second decade of the 21st Century and beyond.
And they do so with Bohemian panache, gonzo élan, punky ‘tude, bluesy grit and stunning musical mastery and imagination while keeping a firm rock’n’roll Vulcan death grip on the roots of the blues. The result is a sound that’s rife with the beef and the heart — if you get the drift — plus mind-expanded smarts and relentlessly wild and wooly soul. - Rob Patterson
Dead Mineral (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/deadmineral
Formed in 2005 under the name Novox, Dead Mineral have been blasting Houston area bars and clubs with mostly instrumental dual guitar driven rock that wraps beauty inside searing noise. Members collectively hail from other Houston bands including Dry Nod, Sprawl, The Drunks, STOMA, The Keenlies, Run Trip and Fall, Rusted Shut, Project Grimm, Texas Guinness Lovers.
“This four-piece formed in 2005, originally billing themselves as Novox. They released a split seven-inch on Four Letter Music with Fired For Walking this year. The Dead Mineral side features their track “Hyper-Vigilance,” a melodic, shifting instrumental number. Houston’s first and foremost “Ouija Rock” band (note, if anyone wants to hop on that bandwagon, you’re likely to be the second) is definitely worth a listen, especially for those who admire Explosions In The Sky but want something a little surlier.” – Houston Press
