The current volume of local music is staggering. New Houston bands are born daily, and all too often pass away just as quickly. Rocks Off wants to help you (and ourselves) keep up.
As we stuffed ourselves silly last week on turkey and dressing and all the other assorted fixings that graced our Thanksgiving feast -- including what may or may not have amounted to half of a pecan pie consumed by our lonesome -- we thought about the metaphor that could be drawn to Houston and its bevy of local music. This town is just jam packed with it, after all that's why we write this column. So yes, while there might still be leftovers in the fridge, forsake them for another day and feast upon another round of Houston music. As always, dig in.
Folk Family Revival: This quartet -- featuring the three Lankford brothers and longtime friend Caleb Pace -- has been busy of late, tucking shows under their collective belts and sharpening the sound of their rootsy Americana rock. Fronted by Mason Lankford, the foursome show great promise and talent, and after building their name throughout the state, they seem destined to become breakout stars on a larger level.
We've had the pleasure of taking in their stage show, accompanied by some frosty beverages on several occasions. Follow in our footsteps and enjoy a similar experience by catching the Saint Arnold Foam Raiser at the Orange Show on Friday night. After all, nothing goes better with great music than great beer.
Other Sites: Facebook, LastFM, Twitter, YouTube
Cavernous: Houston's had its fair share of instrumental metal projects, and Cavernous is right up there among the best. We honestly weren't certain if they were still active, but thankfully we'll have the chance to catch the four-piece doling out some sore necks at the Montrose Winter Social this Saturday (they play Mango's at 3 p.m.).
Whether they're busy laying down some brutal guitar riffs, thundering drums, or slipping in some sonic solos, the common thread is that the band stays busy. Aside from a solitary years-old picture, we couldn't find one non-blurry photo of the group in action.
Other Sites: Bandcamp, MySpace
Harts Of Oak: This project garnered "Best Folk Act" honors in our recent Houston Press Music Awards. Folk may have been at the roots of their humble beginnings, but since blossoming into a full band their sound has shifted into a driving lo-fi indie rock sound that yearns for the late nineties/early aughts.
Their latest EP, August's The Old States would have been right at home on Burnt Toast Vinyl or Jade Tree Records. The title track slips in some slide guitar, though, and brings the listener back to the western twinges that decorate Harts Of Oak's sound.
Other Sites: Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
Drifter: Not to be confused with the early 00's Houston rock band of the same name, this seems to be a solo bedroom project. It's nigh impossible to find any information on this act, but that hasn't stopped us from falling in love with the three albums deposited on Bandcamp just a month ago. Some of it is fuzzy ambient drone, some is psychedelic haze, some is acoustic meandering, but all of it most certainly drifts. It's soothing in a way that almost makes us lose track of time, and there's no telling how long it's been flowing back and forth through our headphones.
Chemistry: On the sliding scale of age, we rest somewhere between young buck and old fogey here at Dig This. So it's sometimes astonishing to us that the kids are embracing bands from our younger days, as they rediscover acts found in the music collections of older siblings or cousins and reincorporate those sounds into new music.
Such seems to be the case with Chemistry, some youngsters making throwback emo rock/pop punk in the vein of Jawbreaker, Hot Water Music, and The Get Up Kids. The kicker is that they're really good at it. For a second we swore we were back on the old cheddar cheese wagon, sporting headphones and trying to decide if we were going to ask out that cute girl that sat in front of us in chemistry class. Seriously, she was a looker. Chemistry the band plays Fist Pump Fest in Spring on Saturday.
Other Sites: Bandcamp
