Live music preview: Six bands to see at LEVITATION 2024

World-renowned psychedelic Austin musician Roky Erickson once said, “At one time, I had it notarised that I was from another planet. By a lawyer.” Regardless of whether that makes sense or not, Erickson’s legacy still holds true in the city of Austin, Texas. We’re decades removed from the 60s, but folks like Austin’s The Black Angels and their proxies have kept his legacy alive by delivering endless programming of neo-psych rock utopia.  Festival founders Rob Fitzpatrick and The Black Angels’ Levitation is back this Halloween weekend for yet another multi-venue installment, and the booked talent continues to deliver a factor of “Wow.” The Cosmic Clash team will join the festivities yet again and is here to prescribe another list of bands you need to see for the end-of-October festivities. All set times can be found on the Levitation website.

The Black Angels – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre – 10/31

Let’s not kid ourselves here, The Black Angels rule and always have. Since officially forming in 2004, The Black Angels have been a mainstay in the Austin local scene, building their musical and festival underground empire with the help of bands worldwide that believe in their worthy cause. Since SXSW 2024, The Black Angels have parted ways with collaborator/multi-instrumentalist Ramiro Verdooren, replacing the Austin musician with Daiistar bassist Misti Hamrick to take over bass and synth duties. For this Levitation opening night set, The Black Angels recently announced a full album performance of their 2010 effort Phosphene Dream. The show will feature the full album and other cuts from The Black Angels’ ever-growing catalog. Armed with the manic howl of frontman Alex Maas, the entrancing drumming from Stephanie Bailey, and the overdriven shreddery of guitarists Christian Bland and Jake Garcia, The Black Angels will come locked and loaded for yet another star-studded performance. 

Mdou Moctar – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre – 10/31

Nigerien songwriter Mdou Moctar will appear at Levitation 2024 after playing the first revival year of Austin Psych Fest in 2023. Fresh off Moctar’s latest release, Funeral for Justice, via Matador Records, the African musician has been busy with relentless touring amid numerous releases since receiving the Matador Records treatment. The solo venture has been getting underground widespread attraction with tours, festival appearances, and releases that pull from world music and traditional psychedelic rock, with plenty of fluttering guitars and Eastern influences that will widen any fan of the Levitation brand’s horizons. 

Boris – Empire Garage – 10/31

To call Japan’s Boris a stoner/sludge metal outfit would be selling them short. Since last passing through Austin with sludge metal titans Melvins, Boris has garnered a dedicated following in the Central Texas area, with fans that excitedly latch onto their blend of speed metal, doom metal, and everything in between. Since collaborating with artists like Sunn O))), Coaltar of The Deepers, Uniform, Merzbow, and more, Boris has had a relentless trajectory that takes audiences on a no-holds-barred ride that’s full of ripping guitar solos, deafening drum beats, and mountain top vocal prowess that stretch the limits of sonic fury. 

A Place To Bury Strangers – Empire Control Room  – 10/31

Oliver Ackermann’s prolific New York City outfit A Place To Bury Strangers is a powerful force that knows no limits. A veteran of Levitation and Austin Psych Fest, the Brooklyn noisegaze outfit brings flammable sounds to every stage they take, and Ackermann is always finding ways to hit fans with a different angle of their roaring guitars laced with their noisy backdrops of face-melting ferocity. Since the release of their latest LP, Synthesizer, the ever-changing band is at it again with worldwide tours, countless reinventions of their sound, and a guitar pedal company, Death By Audio that gearheads can interweave into their 50-foot pedalboards, and the frontman’s influence is still reigning supreme in 2024. With the release of their latest album, Ackermann also announced that fans would have the opportunity to purchase a portable synthesizer to try their hand at making their own fuzzy creations, a mesmerizing gesture from the visionary’s Death By Audio music equipment company that is as immersive as the music itself.

Pissed Jeans – Far Out Lounge & Stage – 11/1

Philadelphia’s Pissed Jeans are a visceral system attack from the working class. A signee of legendary Seattle label Subpop Records, the Pennsylvania act has been on a slow, steady, but blistering, worthwhile trajectory. With a sound that is made to provoke and annihilate the eardrums, fans of Pissed Jeans hang on their every word. With subjects like terminal illness, an ever-changing political landscape, crippling debt, and other perils of everyday life, Pissed Jeans is a band for the people. With the release of their latest full-length, Half Divorced, the pissed-off hardcore punks have retained their focused and activist attitudes, and they’ve been in a new league that is all the better for it. Since an unforgiving performance on the last day of SX 2023, Pissed Jeans is set to return to Austin with their grappling new record in tow, and will come charged with a set festival attendees won’t want to miss. 

Slift – Far Out Lounge & Stage – 11/1

French trio Slift still feels like a new band, but their long-running and astounding works say otherwise. With the release of their latest LP, ILION, which spans a whopping 80 minutes, the instrumental abilities of the Space Rock band feel boundless. Slift last crossed through Austin for Levitation 2022 at local Red River Cultural District haunt Elysium, which ended up being a favored set of the annual Levitation edition. Slift’s sound is enrobed in space rock, progressive rock, and neo-psychedelia, making their antics as a trio generate soundscapes that go beyond what fans of heavy guitar music realize in the current world of fuzzy guitar-oriented compositions. Slift is more than meets the eye, and their storied live performances show their rapid development as one of the psych underground’s most exciting acts.

Featured photo by Ismael Quintanilla