The cover of Pale Blue Eyes‘ This House features a photo of the house and parents of lead singer / guitarist Matt Board. Everything in that photo is gone now. Well, the house might still be there, and Board’s memories of it are still intact, but it has new inhabitants now. The lawn is probably different. The decorations in it are different, and the people now living in it are building their own lives while Board, after losing both his parents within five years of each other, is still building his. The album is about loss, but also embracing the change that comes with loss.
The album begins with “More” (as in there is more after loss, if you allow it) as Lucy Board‘s synths and programmed beats immediately bring light and hope, and Aubrey Simpson‘s bass groove gets your feet tapping. As if that wasn’t catchy enough, “Simmering” is even peppier and encourages us to examine the “before and after” when you’re faced with a life-changing event.
After all, there’s “no turning back” after such a thing. You just want to “Hang Out” and let it drift by you “because I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Sometimes you have to be still…although this track is tailor-made to get you to dance. Put it on at the party you throw to alleviate your sadness. It’s perfect. Mrs. Board’s synths and programming on “Spaces” sounds like transmissions from outer space.
Simpson’s bass on “Heating’s On” sounds like something from a lost Go-Gos track. Mr. Board’s guitar goes all shoegaze on “Our History,” and it’s a gorgeous wash of sound crashing over you. “Million Times Over” slows things down just a bit, but the dance beats (and spooky synths) return with “Illuminated.” “Sister” is another shimmering shoegaze stunner. Looking for motorik? Don’t worry. Pale Blue Eyes have you covered with the snappy “Takes Me Over.”
The record ends with the lush “Underwater,” as if you plunged into a backyard pool at the end of a long day or late at night when the party is winding down and it’s just you and a couple close friends. You know things will be okay. You can embrace the shock, the cold, and you can embrace the support and the warmth. It’s all okay.
Take psych-rock / ye-ye giants The Limiñanas and combine them with DJ / producer Laurent Garnier and what do you get? De Pelicula – a super-groovy, super-trippy album that tells the tale of two lovers in a film soundtrack format. The album’s title even means something akin to “like something out of a film.”
“Saul” is a mysterious track about a man who loves film and music but isn’t happy with life until he meets a young woman and decides to leave everything behind to follow her. Saul (“A small town guy.”) and this woman, Juliette (A “beautiful and gentle” prostitute), are prominent figures throughout the record. “Je rentrais par le bois…BB” (“I was returning / coming home through the woods…BB”) is a slightly frightening psych-drone track with Garnier’s synths creating a weird landscape and Marie Limiñana‘s beats creating a slightly paranoid sense.
“Juliette dans la caravanne” (“Juliette in the trailer.”) has Saul meeting Juliette in her 1960s trailer for a rendez-vous that changes his world and unsettles him. “Que calor” brings in Spanish lyrics instead of the French you’ve heard so far. Lionel Limiñana uses a mellotron and organ to neat effect here and the entrance of his fuzzy guitar turns your head into a strong wind.
“Promenade oblique” is another solid instrumental track with a groovy bass line from Lionel. “Te tournes en boucle” (“You’re turning / going in circles.”) is a twisting, looping track that details Saul feeling lost until Juliette shows up to pull him back into a clearer headspace. “Steeplechase” races along with some of Marie’s snappiest drumming and Garnier’s spy movie car chase scene-like synth pulses.
“Juliette” is the tragic backstory of the female half of our lovers in this tale, told through haunting synths and raging guitar. Juliette, born to a single drug-addicted mother, drifts into drugs and eventually kills a pastor who takes advantage of her…only for her to end up a party girl on drugs and having sex for money. “Ne gâche pas l’aventure humaine” (“Don’t spoil / waste the human adventure.) repeats the lyric of “Je t’aime.” (“I love you.”) again and again as siren-like synths give us a warning of what’s ahead for our star-crossed lovers.
“Au début, c’était le début” (“At first, it was the beginning.”) has Garnier taking lead vocals that sound like he’s mourning for lost times, reflecting Saul’s wish for something better for he and Juliette. He doesn’t get those better times, however, because at the end of the album, on “Saul s’est fait planter,” (“Sault got stood up.”), Juliette leaves him. She gets on a train and never returns. That’s French cinema for you.
It’s a cool record telling a cool story with cool grooves. You won’t regret taking this trip.
It’s no surprise that Rare DM (Erin Hoagg) titled her new, entirely self-produced and recorded album Attention. The whole thing demands your attention, and your pulse.
Opening track “Compliment” hits all the right beats and gets your pulse elevated for what’s to come. You’ll need the energy for all the dancing, and Rare DM’s often breathy vocal delivery is as seductive as the beat. “The Ring” throbs in your head and your hips, and, yes, it’s about the Japanese horror film Ringu and the wicked ghost in it who slays people via VHS tape. Rare DM loves blends of music and visuals, technology and humanity, sex and science fiction. It’s a perfect fit.
“Honey” has a drifting, floating, tactile sound that sounds like a cool darkwave track you haven’t heard in years. The question on Rare DM’s mind at the beginning of “Mean Girled” is “We’re not even fuckin’, but am I worried about you?” She’s trying to figure out a weird relationship dynamic and if it’s worth taking to another level or if she should just walk away.
“Butterfly Historian” is drenched in muted bass and sultry sweat. “325” might be the best love song about a vehicle since Queen‘s “I’m in Love with My Car.” Speaking of vehicles, the next track is “LA Traffic,” in which Rare DM laments (over drum and bass beats) over being stuck in it while friends wait for her at the club. “Lil DM” has her wishing for at least a night free of phone calls and e-mails.
“Skater Hits Me Harder” has Rare DM looking back on an adolescent crush through the lenses of adulthood and time. “Significant Other” is an instrumental banger. “Do you like me better, now that I’m like you?” Hoagg asks on the near-industrial “Feel Nothing.” She’s come to realize that she doesn’t need what her lover is selling. The album ends with the lush “Landed,” showcasing Hoagg’s misty voice and sunlight-through-the-fog synths (most of which, by the way, are vintage gear she’s collected from all over NYC).
Pay attention to this album. You’ll notice something different every time.
Widely regarded as one of the breakthrough albums of French house music, let alone one of the classic 1990s house music albums, St. Germain (AKA Ludovic Navarre) premiered on the scene with Boulevard and stunned everybody.
The opening track, “Deep in It,” clocks in over seven minutes and drops killer vibraphone beats from Miguel “Punta” Rios on top of snappy electro-beats to get you deep into the sexy Parisian nightclub at 2am. That track is practically a warmup for “Thank U Mum (4 Everything You Did),” which is over twelve minutes of sizzling percussion and smoky bass and sounds like it samples Lightnin’ Hopkins vocals to make the track even groovier.
“Street Scene (4 Shazz)” has great flute work from Malik throughout it that elevates the 15-plus minutes into a great jam. “Easy to Remember” has a great trumpet line throughout it from Pascal Ohsé. Édouard Labor‘s saxophone takes the lead on “Sentimental Mood” and pairs with Alexandre Destrez‘s poppy piano quite well.
“This is what we call easy listening, underground house music,” someone says on “What’s New?” before the floor-filling dance beat drops. “Dub Experience” is a laid back change of pace from the house beats that have propelled the album through the first six tracks, and the closer, “Forget It” is something you’ll remember thanks to its wicked beats and sensuous grooves.
It’s a classic album that still sounds like it could’ve been released yesterday and set the time for Tourist, which is one of the greatest make-out albums of all time.
Keep your mind open.
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Miss Grit‘s new album, Under My Umbrella, is an album about loneliness – both the embrace of it and the sadness of it. Loneliness can be liberating at times. It can feel great to be on your own with endless possibilities before you. It can also feel crushing, like your world has stopped and no one even thinks to look for you while they’re rushing around outside.
The pulsing, symphonic synths of “Tourist Mind” build to an upbeat outlook as you drop the car into drive and head out for a solo road trip to wherever you’d like (as Miss Grit / Margaret Sohn did around North America during a tour). When they sing, “I never wanted to be so alone,” you can’t tell if they’re happy or sad about it. It could be both depending on the moment. “Mind Disaster” sizzles with electric hums and Sohn’s modulated voice sounding like a robot awakening from a weird dream about someone they can’t place but whose presence they can still feel.
“I Won’t Count on You” has Sohn embracing the idea of not having to rely on someone (“I’m going to enjoy this. I won’t count on you.”). “It Feels Like” could be a shoegaze track if you swap the synthesizers for distorted guitars. “Where Is My Head?” is a hypnotizing trip-hop track with Sohn repeating simple lyrics like “You’re all so free.” and “You’ll never see inside of me.” as bubbling, brewing beats and bass surround them.
“Stranger” has Sohn feeling alone as a lover grows detached from them and they’re just trying to keep up before the race is finished. “You Will Change” seems to be about making your way out of the maze of grief with lyrics like “And one day it could all change. While you wait for pain, your heart will go on pushed into another day.” The track (appropriately) flows into “Overflow” – a song about wondering if you’ll know when it’s time to leave a relationship or if you’ll only realize after the other half has left.
The album ends with “Waste Me.” It’s a bit upbeat even though Sohn’s lyrics are sprinkled with sadness (“And it’s very me to feel misunderstood, but I barely try to explain myself to you.”). Sohn is facing the fact that they’re going to be alone, again, for a while, and that might be okay. They’ll just have to ride it out.
It’s all any of us can do, really, but this album helps you navigate it by not feeling so alone.
Keep your mind open.
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There’s a strange thing that happens when you go through a heavy grief process. Sure, you have all the agony, regret, emptiness, and at least brief moments of madness, but sometimes, after the dust settles a bit, you also have a moment when you realize you can, will, and must continue your journey. It’s an empowering, powerful flash of insight that can zip past you if you’re not careful. You have to grab it when it arrives. It might not return.
Lauren Lakis grabbed it while making her excellent new record Deadlights. She’d already lost friends and family to addictions as she grew up the kid of a single mom in Baltimore. She turned to music and film to make sense of it all, joined some bands, and went around the world. While singing in one of those bands, she went through a bad breakup and then learned her mother had been in a car accident that left her paralyzed.
That’s a lot to carry and channel, and she faces the challenge head-on with “There” opening the album with shoegaze guitars and her voice rising above the dissonance. “Heaven Felt Too High” roars with heavy bass grooves that would make Greg Edwards proud.
“I Fall Apart” has Lakis acknowledging the tough parts of grief, but also how she can keep moving (“I won’t let you down. I won’t turn back and around.”). The bass on “The Other Side” hits as hard as anything Kris Novoselic ever dreamed up and probably starts a mosh pit whenever Lakis plays this song live. She makes some Zen allusions on “It’s So Amazing” in which she sings about being in the here and now.
The title track buzzes like your head after you’ve endured a heavy loss. It’s quiet and yet deafening. “No One’s Around Now” reminds me of advice one of my best friends gave me a couple days before my late wife’s funeral: “You’re going to be surrounded by people who love you…and then they’re all going to go home.” It’s true. Eventually, no one is around to help. You have to do it yourself. Lakis knows this and accepts the challenge. What else can you do?
“Love Like a Dog” is a contender the saddest song on the album. The guitar tones let you know it’s going to be rough sailing for a bit, but there is sun on the horizon. “I Want You Here” probably takes the “saddest song” title, and the drone-like bass and melted guitar chords emphasize the loneliness in the lyrics. Ending with “With That Body,” the album drifts away on almost a dream-psych note. The guitars wind around you like a desert wind and the synth bass and drums nearly pull you into a trance.
Deadlights hypnotizes throughout its length. Its a solid record and one that you’ll revisit a lot during late night drives and gray days.
I love how the title of Automatic‘s newest album Is It Now? can be pronounced multiple ways to create multiple meanings, which I think was the point when they named it. It’s open for interpretation. Is it pronounced Is It Now? or Is ItNow? or Is It Now? I think it might be all three.
Halle Saxon‘s funky bass on “Black Box” opens the album with synth player / lead vocalist Izzy Glaudini singing about the frustration of fighting a losing battle, be it in a relationship or the world at large. “MQ9” reveals their love of Devo and krautrock. Drummer Lola Dompé (who has since quit the band) puts down some of her best cyborg beats on the whole record here.
“Don’t sleep your life away,” Glaudini urges on the ultra-cool / sexy hot “Mercury” – a song about not finding excuses for your bad choices. On the next track, “Lazy,” she proclaims, “The thing you thought you wanted was just the image of control.” That’s some Zen right there.
I love how “Country Song,” a song about getting out of the city and embracing a quieter life, is pretty much a city pop song. Glaudini’s bright synths, Saxon’s happy bass, and Dompé’s dance drums put the song in a city club while Glaudini sings about embracing nature. The title track brings OMD and early New Order to mind with its fast beats, grumpy badger bass, and fuzzy synths. Also, the title track doesn’t give any indication on the “proper” way to pronounce the album and song’s title, which is a fun move by them.
“People are polite and frightening,” Glaudini notes on “Don’t Wanna Dance.” She’s stuck in a loud, bright club and would rather avoid the crowd and hang out on the back steps. “Smog Summer” has the band reluctantly returning to city life (“I’ll miss the rain. I’ll miss the moose. I’ll miss the sweet wind whispering tunes.”) as a thick bass riff from Saxon leads the way. It and the following track, “The Prize,” have heavy environmental themes. “Smog Summer” talks about wanton destruction of natural environments, while “The Prize” snarls at the lust for oil and how it ruins everything around it (“You’re gonna learn what the cost to the future means.”).
“Playboi” is a warning to women on the verge of a toxic relationship (“The little boy is losing his head. A malcontent that you’ll never fix. You better run, you better be quick.”). The three of them making this track one of the sultriest on the record is a great in-joke.
The closing track, “Terminal,” is sung in Arabic, with the main (only?) lyrics being “Enough is enough. The coffee boils and the fire doesn’t go out.” It’s almost a drum and bass track and ends the album with an energy boost to inspire us to do something now.
Perhaps that’s the key to the album’s title. Automatic is asking us “Are you going to do something now? How many more red flags do you need?” Now is it, because now is all we have.
I hadn’t heard of Dutch electro artist Joost Klein until a month ago when I heard him mentioned by a local high schooler. I asked my stepdaughter about him and she almost jumped out of her chair. “I love Joost!” she said and was even more thrilled when we learned he was playing in Chicago. The show was originally scheduled for Thalia Hall, but as you can see from that photo, they realized they needed a lot more space for the 3,000+ who showed up at The Salt Shed.
First on the bill was a DJ of sorts – ipadkid2001. I write “of sorts” because I’m not sure if this chap was a DJ or someone pretending to be a DJ. It might have been an act. The crowd was so jazzed that they screamed when ipadkid2001 just turned on the light above his turntables. He played an odd mix of songs, ranging from drum and bass bangers to The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” Most of these songs weren’t played all the way through. They were usually snippets or perhaps two verses and a chorus. At one point he played vocal samples that stated, “This is my first time DJing. I don’t know what I’m doing.” and “Wow, ipadkid, that transition was terrible.” I was willing to believe the first statement, and the second was accurate. There were so many awkward transitions between tracks that I wasn’t sure if they were intentional or not. Again, was all this a parody? I don’t know, and by the end I don’t think the audience knew.
A DJ set? A clever joke? I’m still not sure.
Klein’s DJ, DJ Chool, played a set that was so short that I wondered why he even bothered. I mentioned this to my stepdaughter, who rightly stated, “He’s just warming up for Joost.” He was both a DJ and a hype man, who was having a blast dancing around the stage for the few moments he had it to himself.
You were going to try cramming all these people into Thalia Hall?
Klein ran out on stage as soon as DJ Chool got back to his decks and the crowd went bonkers as he began with “Ome Robert” (otherwise known as the lovely ballad “Suck My Ditch, Bitch.”).
SMD, bih!
The whole show was as crazy as the opening number. Klein twice told the audience to look out for each other in the crowd and stay hydrated, once stopping before he started a new song so someone could be removed from near the front due to them being overheated.
My stepdaughter was delighted to hear “1,” and the younger folks in the crowd went nuts when he played a version of Crazy Frog’s “Axel F” while this Gen X’er was amused and baffled. I later told my stepdaughter, “I feel like I should know the story of the crazy frog.” Her response was, “It’s an old YouTube video.” I later learned it’s a Swedish animated character from Eurodance.
My stepdaughter: “He’s gonna play 1!”
Other fun highlights were “Tetetetete” – a Spanish song as a salute to Cinco de Mayo, the “We can all relate to this” track “TRAFIK!” (about being stuck in traffic), and the “We can relate even more to this” cut “Capitalism :D” (about both hating and needing work).
The work hamster wheel / toilet paper roll never ends!
“Zonder Jou” and “Europapa” were other big hits for the crowd. It was a fun show, and one that hadn’t been on my radar. Klein was genuinely appreciative of the crowd and response, commenting multiple times on how he was stunned by the number of people who showed up.
Be prepared to dance, and laugh, if you can catch him. It’s a good time.
The final day of the 2026 Austin Psych Fest was the most humid of the three, and easily the most soulful. The festival bumped up all the sets by an hour, presumably to avoid the thunderstorms predicted to roll in around 10pm that night just as the final set was about to end.
As a result, I wasn’t able to get in a disco nap before the festival and trotted my slightly sunburned body to the Far Out Lounge just in time to catch Night Beats play a solid set of psychedelic, fuzzy soul rock. It had been a few years since I’d seen them, and they haven’t lost a step. They still deliver the goods.
Night Beats rocking day beats.
Up next were the funky Dumbo Gets Mad, who had everyone happily dancing in the hot sun without a care. Finding shade is a skill at this festival. You have to claim spots early or rely on the charity of others to squeeze you into a shady space. The occasional breeze elicited happy sighs from the crowds, and it kept hitting at good times during DGM’s set to make dancing all the easier.
No anger here, just fun vibes.
A big crowd had assembled for La Lom, who hit the first note exactly at the start of their set time. The Los Angeles trio played a fun set of instrumental cumbia, rockabilly, and border rock. Everyone was smiling during this set. Couples were dancing and making out. People were cheering their ancestry as La Lom announced the origin of several tracks (“We’re going to play a song from Columbia!”, “This is an old one from Mexico!”).
La Lom shaking hips everywhere.
Trish Toledo was the next artist on the bill, bringing her Latina soul siren vocals to the second stage with her killer backing band. She started with her version of Diana Ross’ “Bad Girls” and proceeded to win and break hearts from there. Everyone was spellbound by the end.
Trish Toledo wrapping everyone around her fingers.
The night, and the festival, ended with the big sounds of Thee Sacred Souls. Much like La Lom and Ms. Toledo’s sets, everyone was buzzing and happy during it. The heat and sun didn’t matter (“It’s like being in a club at 3am,” said lead singer Josh Lane). People all around me were dancing, cheering, smooching, and loving the opportunity to go out with dance grooves to carry them home.
The thunderstorms hit almost an hour later, preventing me from getting to the late night show downtown. That was a bummer, but overall it was a good time and, as always, an excellent blend of genres and bands from all over the map.
And now, my random Festival Awards!
Best set: The Flaming Lips. The sound engineering was top-notch and it was a fun set list. On a personal note, they were one of my late wife’s favorite bands and they played the night before our 29th wedding anniversary, so that was special. I got choked up during “The Golden Path.”
Heaviest set: The Black Angels. Good heavens, the modern versions of the songs from Passover somehow have even more fuzz and weight on them.
Shame on You if You Missed It set: Almost Heaven. They were the second set on the first day and put on a sharp, post-punky / electro-funky set that had a lot of people buzzing by the end of it and wearing their new band shirts over the next two days.
Wildest set: J’cuuzi. Absolutely bonkers and a ton of fun. Crazy costumes, exotic dancers, glam-punk riffs, a spinning chair substituting for a stripper’s pole, and more stuff I’ve forgotten were all crammed into it. They opened the festival and set a high bar for everyone to follow.
Loveliest set: Trish Toledo. This was like a cool breeze refreshing you after a long day. The soul ballads and psychedelic funk sounds were a great addition to the festival. This was another set you’ll kick yourself for missing if you weren’t there.
Sweatiest set: Night Beats. Lead singer and guitarist DannyLee Blackwell’s shirt was soaked enough for him to win a wet t-shirt contest by the end of this. The fuzzy, guitar-roar sounds were sweaty, too. Everyone in the crowd was sweating, at least a bit dehydrated, and yet ready for more by the end.
Happiest set: La Lom. Everyone was dancing and smiling the whole time, including the band. The back-and-forth cheering between La Lom and the crowd reflected how everyone was participating in a big party and not caring about the humidity.
Most Happy to Be There set: New Candys. I didn’t get to see every band at the festival, but of all the ones I did see, the Venetian trio seemed to be the happiest to be there and hanging out with the rowdy crowd and a bit surprised at how many people came to see them.
Trippiest set: Holy Wave. These guys do psych-rock very well and are local favorites. I usually see them in dark venues or at night, but the afternoon sun only seemed to make them sound brighter and dreamier.
Most Shredding in a Set: Ty Segall. There were a few times in his raucous set that he just unloaded a crate full of mega-riffs. How a mosh pit didn’t break out during this is beyond me. It must have been the heat.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Cheyenne Doerr for the press credentials and support.]
I heard the thunder rumbling as I started the walk to the Far Out Lounge for the second day of Austin Psych Fest. I got about three blocks when the rain started. My phone’s weather app said it was just an isolated storm that would soon pass. I put on the raincoat I’d packed and continued walking…
…into a full-on thunderstorm complete with flash flooding and rain hitting so hard that at one point I thought it was hail. I later learned there were funnel clouds in the area at the time. I sloshed my way back to the Air BNB place I was sleeping in for the weekend, wrung out my socks, and waited out the storm for at least another hour before making the trip in the now sunny, jungle-humid afternoon.
APF had been delayed for those two hours due to a couple lightning strikes. As a result, the first four bands of the day – Commercial Breaks, Strange Lot, The Dead Canyon Family Reunion, and Grocery Bag – ended up with canceled sets. Annabelle Chairlegs barely managed to squeeze in their set when the festival finally opened.
So, first on the bill for me was Ty Segall. I hadn’t seen him since the (unknown to everyone at the time) final Psycho Music Festival in Las Vegas in 2021. As one photographer in front of me said before the set, “You never know what you’re going to get with Ty.” That’s true. You could get a lot of shredding, acoustic ballads, or even electro-infused dance rock. For APF 2026, Segall and his band brought the rock.
Ty Segall and crew bringing another kind of thunder.
It was a fun set from him, and a ripper of a way to start my festival day. He included at least two new tracks which sound great. The set had a heavy 1970s garage rock sound to it, and I’m surprised mosh pits didn’t erupt throughout it.
Segall’s set was followed by a double-bill of psychedelia. Up first were world travelers Al Qasar who had everyone dancing and grooving with their neat mix of Dutch, Brazilian, Arabic, Jamaican, and several other nations’ sounds. They even ended with a wild reworking of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.”
Al Qasar taking everyone on a trip.
Then, Melody’sEcho Chamber performed to a big crowd who fully embraced their mind-bending sound and light show. I saw a lot of, ahem, blissed-out people during their set having a great time.
Is it a jellyfish? A butterfly? A jellyfly? A butterfish? That edible kicking in?
Many of us zipped over to the smaller stage to catch New Candys’ set. The Italian trio (No longer a quartet?) roared for the whole performance, knocking out heavy riffs, shoegaze fuzz, and slapping beats. “Damn, those guys are really good,” said a guy behind me once they’d finished. He was right.
New Candys with a delicious set.
The day ended with our hosts, The Black Angels, performing their Passover album in its entirety as well as other tracks (including at least one new song). The crowd was packed for them. One group in front of me had some weird fire dance circle going with a couple lighters being waved near the ground. The Black Angels are currently touring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Passover, so don’t miss them. It’s a good opportunity to hear a lot of deep cuts.
Don’t pass over a Black Angels show! See what I did there?
Up next: Latin psychobilly surf rock, psychedelic cumbia, and a lot of soul!
