House music in Austin is an undercurrent, barely noticeable beneath the deluge of more mainstream genres that have much more visibility. Yet, occasionally a gem shines through that makes you want more. Paty Gomez-Palacio, aka DJ Frooot, found her break in the UT greek party scene, playing parties where she impressed attendees leading to bigger and higher profile shows.  Frooot is young, female and determined, but Austin isn't the most nourishing scene -especially since Kingdom and Ethics were shut down in the past year. Gomez-Palacio has persevered, expanding her show circuit to include other Texas cities, festivals and recurring shows at venues like Scratchouse and Vulcan Gas Company.  A steady stream of consistent and quality released tracks also serve as harbingers of Frooot's longevity and success moving forward.

Kalijah, the 4 piece post-indie, sensuous rock band in Austin, Texas released their debut EP Mouth of the Cave complete with mouth watering melodies and lyrics that punch you awake. The namesake song of the album whisks your consciousness from where you last left it and you’re hearing words like:
“mouth of a cave was open up wide,

we climbed over teeth and we crawled deep inside,

crystal formations the size of a man,

a shining blue light on the red coral sand.”

The gruff vocals quickly endear you and the band’s full sound immerses you in the song, and then you’re the one in the mouth of the cave. Another notable song from the EP, “Man of Wealth” picks up the cave narrative and spurlunks deeper, reflecting on the complex nature of the human psyche. They sing, “I’m going to own myself. I’m a man of wealth,” in the face of a dark, daunting cave of subconsciousness; Plato would be impressed. What an empowering mantra of self-ownership and self-worth. Kalijah’s poetics amplify their already strong and cohesive sound.

Their spotify account reaches active listeners from, of course, good ole Texas all the way to our South American brothers and sisters in Brazil and Uruguay. Music so beautifully and indiscriminately brings people together from all backgrounds, and there’s no better time than now for music to build community and heal the world, right? Kalijah, thank you for bringing ears and hearts together through your sheer humanity and psychedelica-tinged resonance.

-Melissa Green 

Hippo Campus opened the show for The Head and the Heart at ACL Live on Wednesday night. Their charisma and emotive performance stirred the crowd into dance, readying them for the headlining act. The penultimate song of their set, South, is inspired by Texas, they said. A great set, great presence; visiting from St.Paul, Minnesota, the band brought electric energy for the Austin crowd.

The Head and the Heart have toured through Austin numerous times earning them a warm reception. They opened the show with “All We Ever Knew,” and immediately hooked the room with the hit song from their 2016 album, Signs of Light. The band played a balanced mix of tunes from their old and new albums; their newest album, Living Mirage, released earlier this year. The all-ages crowd indiscriminately bopped to the acoustic chords from their earlier music and the synthy sounds from on the newest record.

Admittedly, the most cheesy moment of the performance was when the lead singer, Josiah Johnson, paused in the middle of the beloved “Let’s Be Still,” with a call for flashlights: “Everyone, take out your phone flashlights and let’s fill this room with fireflies.” Somehow it seems less romantic when the musician makes this request, compared to the days past of music loving audiences spontaneously breaking out their lighters.

Although their sound is evolving, they’ve maintained a deep sense of lyricism. The album’s single, “Honeybee,” sings of a relationship sticking it out through hard times, and is not at all about bees: “Such a fool, I took your love and I bent all the rules...stuck around to let me know, built a family of our own.” Frontwoman and violinist, Charity Thielen explains that “‘Honeybee’ really captures the idea of realizing you may have been living a life complacent with the familiar. Maybe even taking the person closest to you for granted and regretting not expressing your love towards them until it’s too late.”

They closed the evening with the song everyone was waiting for, Rivers and Roads, reminding us of why we fell in love with them in the first place. Released in 2011, the song’s sentiments grow more relatable each year contributing to it being a timeless favorite in the neo-folk canon. They sing, “a year from now we’ll all be gone, all our friends will move away.” Imagine now all the change you’ve experienced in the last 8 years. Do you relate? Does this song resonate? Do Charity’s haunting vocals still move you like the first time you heard it?

-Melissa Green