Thursday, June 25, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

new music

Wild Heaven band photo
PremiereSongTroy Gonzales

Exclusive – Song Premiere: Wild Heaven single Dust In The Night Sky officially drops June 26

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With extreme pleasure The Cosmic Clash has been asked and accepted to premiere and review the new single from Austin psychgaze act Wild Heaven, which is set to be released on June 26. It’s the first single from their upcoming sophomore album due in 2027 and the first to include their new guitarist Blake Bowles. The song is produced by Matt Parmenter and recorded at his Ice Cream Factory Studio.

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Paper Sister band photo
AlbumBecky RodriguezReview

Album Review: Austin’s Paper Sister release dreamy and punchy Quiet Betrayals EP

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The new record, Quiet Betrayals is the first EP release by the four-piece band from Austin, Paper Sister. Combining elements of shoegaze and post-punk, dream pop, and indie alt rock, the 6-track EP highlights selected singles over the past couple years, with some releases as recent as April of this year. The  dreamy and punchy EP featured a release party presented by 101X Homegrown Live at The 13th Floor on May 29 with French Film, Feedr, and Variety to celebrate the group’s new recording.

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Shakey Graves by straydog media
Greg AckermanInterviewsLive Music

Interview: Austin artist Shakey Graves is coming to Utah Arts Festival with a great new record

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When The Cosmic Clash got to Salt Lake City one of the first annual events we heard about was the Utah Arts Festival. We were duly impressed that a city SLC’s size, invested so heavily in visual art, music and literature. There were panels, live music and tons of visual artists represented. It seemed like the story of Salt Lake’s Mormon monoculture was exaggerated fiction. In town, at least culturally it kind of is. The city founded by Mormons has more similarities to Austin, Texas than it does to the Vatican; Blue dot in a red sea, state capitol, big public university north of downtown? Sounds like ATX. We learned the UAF is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, doubling down on quality musical headliners including Austin’s own Shakey Graves. The singer and songwriter performs June 20 (Saturday) early on in his recently launched tour supporting his new record, Fondness, Inc.

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Courtney Barnett 8 Radio East Drew Doggett
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Australian indie rocker Courtney Barnett is back with a new record

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Australia has long produced standout rock talent – Amyl & The Sniffers, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Chats, and legacy legends AC/DC among them, proving rock and roll thrives down under no matter what generation is listening. For Melbourne’s Courtney Barnett, the past decade yielded indie rock anthems full of emotional honesty and millennial angst. With 2026 LP Creature of Habit marking her first full-length since 2021, Barnett reunited with her band to feed live music fans once again. She opened her North American tour in Austin at Radio East on Friday night with a rain-soaked evening of sing-alongs and good vibes.

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Mike CosmicPremiereReview

Song premiere: Austin music scene veterans Mean Jolene drop single Private Plane today

Mike Cosmic Cota 1055 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Veteran Austin power-pop and garage-rockers, Mean Jolene release a new single “Private Plane” today.  The track is on their up and coming third studio album, Play Nice, recorded and mixed at Estuary Recording with John Michael Landon. The song’s theme “fantasizes about a return to innocence — reflecting on escapism as a form of self-preservation and how this can directly conflict with the desire to grow and overcome adversity.”

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Greg AckermanMusic VideoPremiere

Video premiere: supergroup Primitive Ring drop new single and video today – play Metro in SLC Friday

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If you’re a garage or punk rock music fan then you likely know who Ty Segall is. The prolific musician is known for releasing a wide range of music under various names that all stem from the same punk rock ethos. One of Segal’s longtime collaborators, Charles Moothart (Fuzz) launched a new project in 2024 with Bert Hoover (Hoover III) and Jon Modaff (Frankie and the Witch Fingers) called Primitive Ring. Today the band premieres their latest single and video, “Lies from the Other Side.” in advance of their new self-titled LP, due out May 15. Fans can pre-order vinyl of the forthcoming album via In the Red Records.

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Thr Groanies 1 SLC Urban Lounge Ryan Wesley Odom
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: SLC act The Groanies dropped new EP, album release show April 10

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One of the first Salt Lake City acts we saw after dipping into the SLC underground music scene was The Groanies who played Urban Lounge a couple years back. The garage punks impressed with a hard hitting set that had us coming back for more the next time the group played at International Bar. Then we caught ’em again at Urban’s Psych Lake City event. We were hooked. This up and coming band, hit us right in our garage-psych sweet spot. Naturally we were thrilled when The Groanies dropped a new EP this week and announced an album release show with Musor and Skrude on Friday, April 10 at Church and State. Advance tickets are available in the link or click the poster to grab your $10 ticket to what promises to be a fun night. The band let us know they organized a taco truck along with ice cream and coffee vendors.

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Nug the band PDX
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six more buzz bands to see at SXSW 2026

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The 2026 South By Southwest (SXSW) music festival is days away. The roster of music festival artists can seem overwhelming at first glance. With a lineup that can satisfy every kind of music lover, The Cosmic Clash is bringing you six more buzz bands you should put on your list for the upcoming long week of music in Austin. All set times, along with venues, can be found on the SXSW website and the SXSW GO mobile application.

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SoundMass overhead shot
Greg AckermanPremiereSong

Video premiere: SoundMass releases new single, prepares for SXSW 2026 shows

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On March 14, SoundMass will gather at The 13th Floor for Cosmic Plants Clash IV, the SXSW day party our publication and Play to the Plants has produced at the venue the past four years. We’ve invited the group, which is really two awesome post-rock bands, Austin’s my education and Salt Lake City’s Theta Naught combined. The merging of the two acts produces a powerful, orchestral style performance with rock instrumentation. With two of every instrument, the stage becomes crammed with talented musicians which is basically our ideal scenario. Today we’re premiering SoundMass’ latest single, “Last Gasp.”

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Bryan Ritchie courtesy of Bryan Ritchie
Case CockrellInterviewsMusic News

Interview: The Sword’s Bryan Richie works hard to sustain the Austin music scene

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If you’ve spent any real time in the Austin music trenches, you know the difference between hype and longevity. Bryan Richie has been on the longevity side for over 20 years. Between his work with The Sword, Spaceflight Records, and his electronic outlet Galactic Protector, he’s watched the local ecosystem evolve through boom cycles, venue shakeups, and the streaming era’s slippery slopes. We caught up with him to talk about staying busy, supporting artists the right way, and why Austin’s scene, while ever-changing, is far from dead. Richie is gearing up for a European tour this year while celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Sword’s triumphant debut Age of Winters, and will release the sequel to his 2019 solo record on February 24. We caught up with him to discuss the upcoming release and why the Central Texas music system still matters and how every bit of fan support is crucial to making it all happen. 

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Megafauna 2026 Michael Worchel
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Megafauna and Slomo Drags premiere singles, play Mohawk February 6

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This Friday, January 6 Andrew Cashen and Disciples of Creation are set to headline Mohawk. We love Cashen’s solo act as well as his other projects, A Giant Dog and Tear Dungeon but we’re here to tell you about a couple of impressive singles dropping this week from veteran Austin acts, Megafauna and Slomo Drags who are on the bill with the singer. Both bands have new songs to share with fans while they prepare to release more material in 2026 and perform for fans Friday evening at the crown jewel of Red River Cultural District rock clubs. The entire bill is worthy of any real Austin music fan’s attention with the three aforementioned artists, along with Transit Method and DJ Dead Flowers. The whole shebang is presented by 101X Homegrown and show host John Laird who knows a thing or two about Austin music.

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