Behold! The New Bands You Need to Be Listening To!

by Robert Dean 

Hello music friends, it’s been a hot minute. 

I’m out here trying to sell this book (you should buy one) and writing about shit like who’s got the best cheese sauce in Texas or where you can find back-alley gambling in Prague because I’m fun like that. But I still am always on the lookout for new music that jams. And recently, there’s been a whole lot. So, let’s do an old-school Farce the Music round-up of the stuff all across the spectrum. You should be hitting play on Ye Old Spotify. 

First, let’s start with Ferris Blusa. This dude is legit. If you like your hip-hop, that sounds like a slow-moving caddy in a sketchy part of town. No mumbling, no trap beats, just grim, grisly moments that make you feel like a gangster while clutching that Venti Starbucks while driving to your desk gig - this is 100% your shit.

The homie Shadwick Wilde dropped his new track “Easy Rider,” a different take from his band, The Quiet Hollers. If you’re down with that classic Bright Eyes sound and country like Ryan Adams or Deslondes, listen to Shadwick. The dude is grinding in America and working any hovel out in Europe. In the world of “paying your dues,” he should be on your favorite Americana playlist and his dues are at Scrooge McDuck levels. 

Another cat I love dropped a whole ass new album recently, Slackeye Slim, and if you’ve ever seen my FTM pieces going back, like, a decade, you’ll know I think he’s an absolute genius. Nothing’s changed from that POV. He does it once again on his new record, Scorched Earth, Black Heart. Do not sleep on this dude; I’ve been saying it forever and am thankful to have him back showcasing his unique point of view that deserves a much bigger audience. 

Down in my city of Austin, Texas….

I’ve lived in Austin for the last decade and I can tell you that our crop of bands right now is absolutely bonkers. If this wasn’t an era where lame internet buffoonery ETT dictates everything, I’d promise that Jimmy from Big Shot Dude Records, with his soul patch, would be snatching up bands left and right like they did back in the 90s grunge era. Every night in town, there are so many shows with local bands that are simply insane. Book a plane ticket and come down, just don’t try and move here. 

Pre-covid, everyone wanted to sound like a shitty version of Black Sabbath. Thankfully, everyone let that stupid fetish die and got back to playing fun music. (I love Black Sabbath, but we need fewer bands named Sleepy Bong Witch and all that bell-bottomed nonsense.)

Here are some bands you should check out, and this is by no means a comprehensive list, but what I remembered to write down ten minutes ago. 

First, let’s state that Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol is the best band in town. Once someone big puts them on tour, it’s a wrap. They sound like Primus, who listened to a lot of Converge and Cave In – tell me I’m wrong. Go pre-order their new record, Doom Wop.

Speaking of hardcore, Slow Pulse and Beyond Reach are two bands that crush live and will kick your dick inside out. Like Drain? Listen to Beyond Reach. Like Walls of Jericho? Listen to Slow Pulse. Merry Christmas, now get fucking crowd killed. 

Another good hardcore band that dips into metal? Lament. They rip, too. Spin kick your dad, he’s a poser. 

If you’re looking for some instrumental rippers, Eagle Claw definitely do not suck. I can usually only take instrumental bands for so long and in these cats' cases, it’s time well spent. Also, if you want to crush some beers with cool people hit the Eagle Claw clubhouse, The Coral Snake.

Do you want some absolutely unhinged, wild shit? Go listen to Fuck Money and Tear Dungeon. Both bands are GOING FOR IT live, spitting blood, masks, and violence. Whatever hellscape is brewing collectively in the world, this Austin era delivers the goods seriously. 

(If you’re interested in hearing more about the stuff popping off in the Lone Star State’s Capital City, check out The Cosmic Clash; I’m the Culture Editor now.)

As for non-Texas bands, 

The Dionysus Effect finally has a whole record out, and it’s still awesome. These boys are on a roll writing legit rock and roll with just the right amount of asking, “Think they’ll want a bump after I buy them a round of drinks?”

Skating Polly has a new record – if you’re into Veruca Salt and 90’s Liz Phair “Welcome to GuyVille” vibes, Skating Polly rips. Saw them at Mohawk in Austin and never let off the gas once. 

And finally, I caught Charles Wesley Godwin recently and holy fuck is that guy good. You should listen to him, too. 

And that’s all I got. See you when I see you. Seriously, though, go buy my book. 

New Blood: The Dionysus Effect Come Kicking and Screaming

By Robert Dean

When I was a kid, I had a lot of videotapes. Every weekend, I’d sit around waiting for shows like Headbanger’s Ball, Alternative Nation, and 120 Minutes to come screaming out of the depths of the MTV studios and into our lives by the sounds of My Bloody Valentine Beck, Screaming Trees, or Big Black. I was lucky enough to live in the era of jerky record store clerks who shit on you for mediocre music tastes. Radio DJs took pride in breaking new bands and music television that wanted you to fall in love with rock and roll, no matter what your shape or size was with the noise. 

I’m getting older now. It’s weird seeing kids wear Doc Martens and Nirvana shirts but have no idea what either meant to us when both things were not en vogue. One thing that I’ve moaned about repeatedly is while it’s cool and all to adopt the fashion, where was the music? Where are the bands who carry the torch for one of the greatest eras in music history? Someone had to be wondering, “what would J Mascis do?”

Then I got hip to The Dionysus Effect. 

The Dionysus Effect is a three-piece off somewhere out of upstate New York, making the right kind of racket. You can never put your finger on what a band listens to or who they were influenced by unless it’s stapled to their chest, scribbled in fanboy blood. But, upon hearing the band’s debut record, there was a flash of riding second-hand BMX bikes to the record store to discover something in the used bin, looking for that new grail to love. 

At one moment, the vocal phrasing reminds me of Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio, but then, it’s Nick Cave. The Dionysus Effect’s music sounds like a time capsule from early alternative radio ala bands like Hum, Sebadoh, The Stone Roses, or Pavement. On “Stars,” the guitar work is light and airy, it’s not driven by aggression, the drums handle all of that work, and on “Heroin,” everything again feels like the music was meant to be on vinyl, ready not for a download, but an honest listen. 

Given that this is their first go-round with releasing music, you can hear where the band will only get better, where you’ll see the bumpy bits tighten up or be thought about differently the next time they hit the studio. There’s underlying aggression, something many bands manufacture but don’t realize. The creators of the style and sound weren’t trying to outwit one another. They didn’t know other bands were as fucked up as they were – we didn’t have Instagram when Sonic Youth dropped Daydream Nation, or Dinosaur Jr gave us Feel the Pain. You can hear where down the line, the guitars might be a little more violent, where a scream might make more sense than a howl. 

If The Dionysus Effect is a good indicator of what’s coming down the line (there's a full album on the way later this year), the kids, as they say, will be alright if these boys show them what’s possible when a world as insane as this one gives you perspective to howl over.