Nick Wright, a psych-rock artist in the band Caved Mountains, says it’s not the right time.
“We would love to do it. There’s a lot of excitement to go play shows, but it’s not the right thing to do,” Wright says. “Right now we’re focused on health and making sure people don’t get sick. We’re practicing here at my house. We’re not going into a jam space.”
Wright and the Caved Mountains worry that practicing in a space where other bands have also recently practiced could put them at risk of catching COVID. Since Grail Fest (a live-music listening and record-digging event that Wright had in the works since 2019) was canceled when the pandemic hit in 2020, the band has not done any live shows and isn’t planning any until it’s safe.
Not all Texans were rejoicing at the chance to show their faces in public again after Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week that businesses won t be required to enforce face masking or limit their capacity come March 2. Abbott’s announcement set Twitter ablaze with backlash, including the trending hashtag RIPTexas, while President Biden accused Abbott (and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who made a similar call) of “Neanderthal thinking.”
One of the most widespread bits of criticism over Abbott’s decision was that while businesses may still require patrons to wear masks the burden to reinforce COVID safety policies falls on employees, making them subject to harassment from anti-maskers, a recurring trend in 2020 when private businesses implemented mask requirements before any official mandates were in place.
St. Vincent released the new single “Pay Your Way in Pain” on Thursday. Reminiscent of
Young Americans-era David Bowie, the song mixes funk rock and soul with St. Vincent’s signature surreal songwriting style. The new video also brings to mind Bowie’s performance of “Fame” on
The Cher Show in 1975 with its low-budget cinematography and visuals. This is the first single from St. Vincent’s upcoming album
Daddy’s Home, out May 14.
One day, singer-songwriter Jonathan Hodges, who records and performs as
Bomethius, saw a terrible wreck on U.S. Highway 75 that left at least one passenger dead. The incident inspired the new single and video for “Traffic,” which came out last weekend. Drawing on inspirations spanning from Buddy Holly to Elliott Smith, Bomethius finds a deeper meaning in a horrific event without getting too morose.
In February 2020, singer-songwriter
Vanessa Peters was in Italy preparing for a European tour when the country went on a national lockdown. The tour was canceled and the recording sessions that had been scheduled in Texas after the tour were scrapped. Working instead in a farmhouse in Castiglion Fiorentino in Italy for 10 days, Peters and her Italian bandmates worked to finish some new songs for her upcoming album
Modern Age. Released Feb. 25, the video for the first of those songs, “Crazymaker,” was shot in Lucca, Italy.
The long-awaited collaboration album from Fort Worth psych-rock legend Johndavid Bartlett and modern psych-rock purists Acid Carousel is finally out on Feb. 26.