Balaclavas, Future Blondes

We stayed alive and in one piece, albeit a broken piece, long enough to catch Balaclavas' SXSW showcase last month. What we saw floored us beyond words, as Tyler Morris and the boys trotted out new material off of the soon-to-be-released Roman Holiday. This album and its new tracks we heard are already scary monolithic, pretty much making all other recent post-punk sound like Hot Topic horseshit. The band recently added Ralf from the Pain Teens and Really Red on saxophone, making the new stuff sound like a Third Coast answer to the Stooges' Fun House. Balaclavas share this bill with Future Blondes, who are embarking on an out-of-state odyssey of recording and travel — FB isn't saying goodbye forever, just stepping out for a bit. Their new track "Angel Heartbeat" sounds like two freight trains having deviant sex in a graveyard. Suffice to say, it's been waking our neighbors quite a bit.