If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Tim Hardiman The more I hear from The Animeros, the more I wish I had been able to check them out at this year's Green River Festival. The trio's latest single, "Descarga Royal," is a swirling psychedelic cumbia song just begging to be played live. Seriously, if you can listen to this one without moving a little, you might not have a soul. With virtually no lyrics, The Animeros completely captivate the listener/dancer with an irresistible groove and rhythms. As great as "Descarga Royal" is recorded, I can only imagine how much better it would be live. I'm sure we'll all be checking their tour dates for a (hopefully soon) return to New England. Nick Tozzo (drummer/percussionist) says of his band's new single:  "’Descarga Royal’ is a cover of a song by classic Peruvian band Los Royals de Pucallpa. Like all 'descargas,' this is an open jam that allowed The Animeros to explore some psychedelic solos and push the energy to the li...

Photo by Sonny Loya I was bummed to miss The Animeros at the Green River Festival on Saturday, and now the Austin, TX band is rubbing it in with a new single. "La Camita" is a cover of Traffic Sound's 1971 song, and somehow The Animeros' version is both more retro and modern sounding. It somehow has a retro cool vibe without sounding like a lost cut from pre-1970... but it also kinda does. This is psychedelic cumbia at its finest, and it's a laid back party perfect for dancing. Once again, I'm going to nominate a song as the song of the summer, but "La Camita" is a perfect summer track, and builds to a glorious finish. You could spend four minutes a lot worse than listening to the latest from The Animeros. The Animeros say of their latest single: “In the lead-up to our recording sessions with Dan Auerbach, we were trading ideas and inspirations back and forth. ‘La Camita’ was a song I had never heard, but Dan had it in his extensive 45 collection, an...

Photo by Jim Herrington Ugandan born, Austin, TX based artist Jon Muq has one single left before his Dan Auerbach released album is released next week. "Flying Away From Home" is the single that could very well break Muq to a mainstream audience. As with his previous singles, this new one has that broad appeal, but something about Muq just sets him apart from other artists. Some musicians just have that quality that draws a listener in and makes you pay attention. Muq has an abundance of that quality. I believe I say this with every single, but you're going to want to jump on the Jon Muq bandwagon now, because it's going to get full very soon. You can watch the video for "Flying Away From Home" below. Flying Away is due out May 31 on Easy Eye Sound, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Jon Muq, check out the artist's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the video. May 24 - Oklahoma City, OK - Scissortail Park May 31 - Austin, TX - Waterlo...

Photo by Devon Hutchins Ugandan born and current Austin resident Jon Muq has been wowing us lately with his mainstream yet undeniably unique take on the world of folk. His latest single, "Bend," takes his impossible to resist folk pop style and infuses it with more than a little soul. In fact, if this was the first single you've heard of Muq's it would be easy to assume he was a soul artist. "Bend" is the type of song your grandmother could enjoy as well as the snobbiest of us music fans. Muq is an incredible talent that just keeps growing with every new single we hear from him. Jon Muq says of his latest single: “I had a problem with self-reflection. I hate mirrors, but I decided to confront myself in a mirror, and 'Bend' is the conversation I had with my reflection. It's okay to give up on yourself on occasion; find an honest conversation with your reflection, and you will truly discover yourself." You can watch the video for "Bend...