One of the toughest things to do when writing about classic music is figuring out where it falls on the genre scale. How do you classify artists like Roy Orbison or the Righteous Brothers, whose music falls under the catch-all AM radio species of "oldies"? Regardless, that's the kind of sound Indianola have emulated on their latest single "Too Good To Be True", although Mississippi-born songwriter Owen Beverly has always had a crooner-like bend to his music. As Indianola, Beverly will release his debut LP Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye in May, with "Too Good To Be True" leading the tracklist. The album will follow the song's style of taking from all different classic genres, from the crooner and doo-wop age of the Fifties to the psychedelic Sixties and the soft-rock Seventies. You can hear those influences mesh on "Too Good To Be True" in Beverly's voice, the haunting strings that sound like they come from a Mellotron, and the slowed-down drums that echo with the Spector-like sound. The video for "Too Good To Be True" pays homage to the B-movies of these eras by mashing scenes from horror films into a well-done montage. Take a look for yourself below, and don't miss Indianola when they return to Nashville to play the High Watt on May 2nd. - Will Sisskind

FREE Eventm RSVP here! Info about Day One here!

For our upcoming Austin Pedal & Synth Expo Showcase, we are excited to get to feature the music of a couple of NYC locals. The electronic music Beshken makes is meditative and complex, weaving between digital and acoustic instruments with dreamlike results. His latest track, “Cursed”, picks its way between honey smooth synths and dissonant vocal effects, reflecting on the mental revolutions between sleep and insomnia. On the other end, while their lyrics too reflect on sleepless thoughts, the music of CLAVVS is rather lucid. The production on their most recent single “Devils I Know” places the vocals at the forefront of a hypnotic and unexpectedly baroque electronic backdrop. The Expo will be held on March 16th at the Chugging Monkey - listen to CLAVVS, Beshken and the other artists who will appear below. - Sunny Betz 

Struan Shields -- who performs music on a first-name basis as Struan -- takes the stage to open for Mike Mains & the Branches at The End on March 14th. The indie pop artist released two singles over the course the past several months which have been raking in the Spotify listens. The first track "Better" brings on the synth-pop of the early 2010s which might give listeners hints of The Naked And Famous or YouTube retrowave artists like FM-84 or The Midnight. The latest track, called "Always", slows things down to a tempo fans of The 1975 or CHVRCHES might find familiar. Struan gets the indie pop formula right, and it'll be worth your while to see him execute it live. Take a listen to "Always" below. - Will Sisskind

We are happy to announce our return to Austin with not one but TWO live show during the famous music festival in the Texan city. The shows are linked to our Austin Synth and Pedal Expo, hosted on the third floor of very central venue Chuggin' Monkey.

This is a free show - RSVP HERE!

Here's the lineup and a playlist for the first night, on March 15, hosted at the Chuggin' Monkey's ground floor right on East 6th Street!

One of the fun parts of writing about the local music scene is that you get to discover new musicians, even if they're just new to you and have been around for an album or two. Stacey Randol's one of those musicians with a couple of records under her belt, but only with the release of Songs in the Soil, her sound brings in elements of legendary artists like Stevie Nicks or Kate Bush as she spins weaving melodies and mellow mood-rock instrumentals into timeless songs. A single listen to "Realize" or "Hammock Cat" will give you a burst of the vintage influence that Randol fuses into her music; you'll hear why her music has appeared on TV shows like Say Yes To The Dress or All My Children. Check out "Hammock Cat" below. - Will Sisskind