Author: Case Cockrell

AlbumCase CockrellReview

Album review: Lauren Lakis sculpts ethereal brand of shoegaze with songwriter chops on new album A Fiesta And A Hell

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For musicians like Lauren Lakis, the guitar-obsessive lifestyle of indie-gaze isn’t just about the noise but the high-stakes lyricism refined on a track-to-track basis. On upcoming new album, A Fiesta and a Hell, the Los Angeles-Austin musician offers potent song structures and celestial soundscapes that pitch her discernment with modern greed and corrupt world leadership. 

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Eclipse utopia banner
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six artists to see at final Eclipse Utopia Festival in October

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Utopia Festival has planned a profusion of eclectic music acts for this Fall’s edition of the festival. What’s more, no set overlaps, attendance is limited and camping is free with your ticket. This festival was made for a quality experience for music fans.  Here are six artists to see if you’re smart enough to snag a ticket to the Four Sisters Ranch for the festivities on October 12-14.

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Night Beats at Hotel Vegas
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Night Beats and Daiistar gave Austin a modern psychedelic rock treat Saturday

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When a band in Austin gets to make a record after playing their material for local audiences for months, sometimes years on end, it’s worthy of multiple rounds of applause. For Austin shoegaze/noise-pop act Daiistar, it’s been a long time coming. To celebrate the release of Daiistar’s new album Good Time, the rising Austin act enlisted the help of Seattle-born, now Texas-based band Night Beats, who are on a new album cycle of their own.

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Frankie and the Witch Fingers
Case CockrellLiveReview

Live music review: Frankie and the Witch Fingers unleashed psych and roll on an ecstatic Austin audience

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For Los Angeles act, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, every record has been a step further to indie psych-rock royalty. Formed by frontman Dylan Sizemore as a solo project in Indiana before relocating to Los Angeles recently, Sizemore has assembled his group of rock and roll avengers, sculpting record after record of “psych and roll” material built to blow audiences away. Sizemore and his band did just that for a Thursday night Austin crowd at The Parish in the city’s famed East Side.

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Swans Paramount
Case CockrellReview

Live music review: Swans evades fire code shutdown at Paramount, delivers two hour onslaught

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Michael Gira’s multi-genre outfit Swans showed an Austin crowd that age is just a number on Sunday night at the historic Paramount Theatre down the street from the Capitol. For those unfamiliar, Swans is a New York band that has gone through various phases, line-ups, genres, and forms through the leadership of multi-instrumentalist, Gira since 1982.

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JPEGMAFIA Danny Brown Scaring the Hoes tour art
Case CockrellReview

Live music review: Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA packed Stubbs for collaborative rager Friday  

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The new album also brought out fans in droves at Stubbs which was sold out for Brown and JPEGMAFIA for a live collaborative rager on Friday. For relentless music fans that chomp at the bit for weird music and what lies beneath the surface, Danny and Peggy have brought their unending creativity to the forefront, which comes as an attempt to make the underground and mainstream collapse on top of each other. 

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Exotic Frutica
Case CockrellPremiere

Video Premiere: Exotic Fruitica continues release cycle with new track Cowboy

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Austin noisemakers Exotic Fruitica are ramping up their upcoming EP release with a new track and video that pushes the band’s noisy antics to 11. For the Austin act, they’ve been releasing one song after another that always go the deafening distance. Choosing sun-baked hooks and fuzzy guitars to sculpt their catchy yet chaotic approach, the Austin noise act has been making a mission statement to rattle listeners into blown-out exhaustion. To celebrate the release of “Cowboy,” They have also dropped a video that embodies the same chaos that the music evokes. Directed by Cameron Kisel, Exotic Fruitica is quickly catching fire as one of Austin’s most exciting bands.

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Big Bill at Mohawk HSN 2023
Case CockrellReview

Live music review: Hot Summer Nights 2023 delivered FOMO-worthy lineup to Austin music fans

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Red River Cultural District’s Hot Summer Nights 2023 returned July 20-23 with a bill that was too hot (figuratively and literally) to pass up. With bands such as Exotic Fruitica, Grandmaster, Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band, and Nuclear Daisies all rounding out the lineup, HSN delivered a FOMO-worthy event that was not to be missed for local fans of a wide variety of musical genres from heavy to mellow.

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Being Dead
Case CockrellReview

Live music review: Austin act Being Dead enlisted friends to celebrate release of debut album

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For Being Dead’s Bayonet Records debut, the Austin powerhouse act not only goes the distance, but torches any doubt that anyone might have had that Being Dead would miss the mark for their first full-length outing which was celebrated with a release party at Sagebrush last Friday. 

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Daiistar
Case CockrellReview

Song review: Austin Noise Pop act Daiistar announced new album, released new song 

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Texas band Daiistar is back in full psychedelic force. On new track “Star Starter,” the Austin act wastes little time in getting down to potent, psychoactive business. The reverb-drenched production makes for a vision quest-type listen, allowing the listener to sit back and bask in the production magic of Alex Maas, frontman of Austin Neo-Psych legends, The Black Angels.

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