Song Review – Anyway You Like: Tied Up is one of Austin’s Newest to Check Out
If we still had a record industry, Austin would be experiencing what Seattle did in the early 90s, thanks to the Grunge boom. Jimmy Wing record dicks would be all over town taking cool bands to BBQ dinner and promising them the moon and stars. Collectively, throughout every genre in Austin right now, some bands are crushing with such force that it’s hard to keep up. The Showlist Austin calendar is jammed with the acts you need to see every weekend. One of those bands with a particular fire worth throwing yourself into is Tied Up, and boy, you’ll need to strap on that suit with the ability to kiss you through the flames.
Taking the hip-hop approach by dropping singles one at a time, Tied Up recently gave us their newest, “Anyway You Like,” on the heels of their prior single, “Gun.” Both are wicked glimpses into what the band will give us moving forward, which says a metric fuck ton, considering they only have two tracks out for public consumption. And those two tracks do not play. This is the rock and roll you want; this is the rock and roll that makes people happy. This is the rock n roll that you punch into your phone when your friend goes, “there aren’t any new bands that are awesome.” Grab that aux chord, tell them to shut the fuck up, and let the guitars do the talking.
“Anyway You Like” feels like it could have been lifted from the piles of VHS at MTV’s 120 Minutes, but it doesn’t feel dated whatsoever. It’s a potent mix of Basement and Dinosaur Jr guitars with effortless, catchy, fun vocals. The bass and drums work in concert with one another, and the moment never feels lost in some miasma bullshit that promising bands are known to do. Not this. The songs are tight, the production value reflects a specific era of crunch, and the song works across the board. As Tied Up continues to hone their sound and build the band, they’ll be headlining the big shows around town by 2025; count on that. It’s only a matter of time.
Listen to “Anyway you like” on the streamer. Grab some beer money and get out to a show. It’ll be an easy win for your ears. Trust me on this one.
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