OUT THIS WEEK
A Giant Dog, “Toy” (Merge). The band’s second release on Merge Records, which follows last year’s “Pile,” explodes with the anarchic energy that made Sabrina Ellis and Andrew Cashen’s glam punk hooligans Austin’s top dive bar destroyers. But it’s not all grit and grime. The album is locked and loaded with flashy hooks and top-of-the-lung sing-alongs. For the past two years, this crew has maintained a brutal tour schedule, building a fan base across the country. Fans at home have been wondering when they’ll break out onto a much bigger stage. The answer? Any minute now. — D.S.S.
A Giant Dog celebrates the release of “Toy” Saturday at Hotel Vegas. JAY JANNER / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Release show Aug. 26 at Hotel Vegas. Here’s the video for the track “Bendover”:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_iHc_z-G8I&w=492&h=307]
Stephen Doster, “New Black Suit” (Atticus). Doster’s revelatory 2014 album “Arizona” was his first release in 18 years, but its success inspired him to reconvene quickly this time with drummer Dony Wynn, keyboardist Kevin Lovejoy and bassist George Reiff. The results are similarly wondrous, if bittersweet. The title track, which closes the album, is the linchpin to this collection of 10 songs, many of which address the loss of dear friends and influential figures in his life. “William Melvin Hicks” is an ode to the Houston comedian who died of cancer in 1994; “Until the End” embraces a live-life-to-its-fullest philosophy. Musically, Doster and his crew traverse melodically engaging classic rock and pop territory, with occasional accents from local aces including violinist Warren Hood, cellist Brian Standefer and saxophonist Elias Haslanger. At the end, Doster sings wistfully, “I need a new black suit, seems all my friends are flying, flying away to the light behind the sky.” Like Ray Wylie Hubbard’s new album, “New Black Suit” was dedicated to bassist Reiff, whose death from cancer in May hasn’t kept his musical contributions from continuing to surface. — P.B.
Release show Sept. 9 at the Townsend. Here’s the leadoff track, “Shooting for the Stars”:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l-jrFGVXNw&w=492&h=307]
Fairbanks & the Lonesome Light, “Nothing to Escape.” On their second album and first since relocating to Austin from Los Angeles, Erik Flores and Amelia Rose Logan deliver ten tracks of classic alt-country/Americana. Their backing crew helps ground these songs into a deeply rooted Southwestern aesthetic, with abundant swaths of pedal steel that complement the harmonies of Flores and Logan at the core of the music. — P.B.
Release show Aug. 25 at Sidewinder. Here’s the track “Pieces”:
Alesia Lani, “Resilient.” Austin’s smoothest purveyor of sultry bedroom grooves follows up her excellent 2015 release “First Impression.” — D.S.S.
Release show Aug. 25 at Mohawk indoor. Here’s the track “Better By You”:
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/338699446" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]COMING SOON
- AUG. 30: Brandon Callies & the American Revival, “Sounds of Love and Ghosts,” release show Aug. 30 at One-2-One Bar.
- AUG. 31: Pulkingham Layne, “Stringology,” release show Aug. 31 at Cactus Cafe.
- SEPT. 1: Jean Caffeine, “Sadie Saturday Night” (Joe), release show Sept. 1 at Hole in the Wall, in-store Sept. 3 at Antone’s Record Shop.
- SEPT. 1: Johnny Dango, “Recluse in Plain Sight.”
- SEPT. 1: Sam Pace & the Gilded Grit, “Judgment Eve, Part 1” EP, release show Sept. 1 at Mohawk indoor.
- SEPT. 8: David Ramirez, “We’re Not Going Anywhere,” in-store Sept. 8 at Waterloo Records.
- SEPT. 9: Mystery Achievement, self-titled, release show Sept. 9 at ABGB.
- SEPT. 10: These Fine Moments, “Break It, Bought It,” release show Sept. 10 at One-2-One Bar.
- SEPT. 15: Ray Prim, “To Whom It May Concern,” release show Sept. 15 at North Door.
- SEPT. 22: Midland, “On the Rocks” (Big Machine), playing Oct. 15 at ACL Fest.
- SEPT. 22: Balmorhea, “Clear Language” (Western Vinyl), in-store Sept. 24 at Waterloo Records.
- SEPT. 22: Jimmie Vaughan Trio featuring Mike Flanigin, “Live at C-Boy’s” (Proper).
- SEPT. 22: Midnight Stroll, “Western Static.”
- SEPT. 22: Walker Lukens, “Tell It to the Judge.”
- OCT. 6: Whitney Rose, “Rule 62” (Six Shooter).
- OCT. 20: Porter & the Bluebonnet Rattlesnakes, “Don’t Go Baby, It’s Gonna Get Weird Without You” (Cornelius Chapel), release show Oct. 21 at Stay Gold.
- NOV. 3: Jackie Venson, “Transcends” EP.
