Naw Dude at the Broken Neck. Pic courtesy of their MySpace page.
Hopefully the readers of TVD Austin are already aware of the first installment of Casual Victim Pile (an anagram for live music capital) which compiled tracks from 19 of Austin’s finest underground (not for long) bands released in 2010 on Matador Records. Roughly one year later Gerard Cosloy (Air Traffic Controllers) is back to his curatin’ with the release of Casual Victim Pile II (12XU), and not surprisingly given the vibrant nature of Ausin’s music scene, there is nary a trace of drop-off in the talent represented here.
Tonight is the start of a four-night celebration of the bands featured and the product itself (released on limited edition white vinyl, so buy now). The party is special in that it’s free, it’s all ages, and it’s at a record store! The king of the Austin punk rock in-store Trailer Space Records (1401-A Rosewood Ave.) is the obvious choice to kickoff this beer-drenched affair. The show gets started at 7pm with The French Inhales. Here are a few quick, random thoughts on the bands on the bill:
Naw Dude whose 1:27 hardcore scorcher “Steal From Your Parents” practically wore my needle out on first listen. They also feature one of my favorite drummers in town, Dugg. This band definitely deserves some national recognition (as do all the artists compiled).
Bottle Service is one of artist/musician Mike Combs many projects and their keyboard-driven garage-y recorded-in-a-cave jam “I Know Who Am I” tracking at 1:46 fits nicely among Austin’s finest. I love watching their drummer Lisa kick it out live and the Hulk hand tambourine player Joe smashing his tambo to bits is a sight you won’t soon forget.
The French Inhales “All Bed & No Breakfast” recorded lovingly by Austin’s own Buddy Bradley look-alike Jon Horne is a work of lo-fi brilliance that you would expect with Horne involved. It’s also an epic number in comparison, timing in at two minutes and 10 seconds. I haven’t seen these guys live so I’ll leave it at that.
Crisis Hotlines‘ “Fallout Shelter” recorded by the most awesome Mike Vasquez at Sweatbox Studios is reminiscent of high-energy Eighties-style punk with the catchy chorus refrain of “fallout shelter” remaining lodged in the brain long after the track is done. Seriously, an hour later I can’t shake it, not that I want to.
Naw Dude at the Broken Neck. Pic courtesy of their MySpace page.
