Big Bill (ATX) | Darling Farm | Gli33i | Modern Modem [SHOWROOM]

Since 2012, Austin’s Big Bill has shaken audiences with their darkly comic take on art rock. They pair propulsive, idiosyncratic music with a singularly weird point of view (in this case via the sped/up Buddy Holly vocals of singer/songwriter Eric Braden). With their joyfully chaotic live shows and recordings, Big Bill has amassed a cult following in Texas and nationwide. Big Bill’s music has evolved across many personnel changes—the current lineup being Eric Braden on vocals, Alan Lauer on bass, Alex Riegelman on guitar, and Jeff Olson (formerly of White Denim) on drums—morphing from the rawest, weirdest punk into much more sonically varied territory. This growth is evident on their third full-length Strawberry Seed, which features the most ambitious tweak of their formula yet, including a broader musical as well as emotional palette. Strawberry Seed marks the first Big Bill release made without founding guitarist/co-vocalist/songwriter (and Eric’s brother) Cody Braden, and Eric and company have filled the gap with a clutch of songs which both evoke their more bizarro past (“Poverty of Wires,” “Throw It Away”) as well as a newly mature sound, with songs like “Clean Feeling” and “Crinkle the Wrapper” evoking The Clean, or even Elliott Smith. On songs like “Beautiful Angels of the City,” they stretch across both sides of that coin–giving the emotionally vulnerable wisdom that only true tricksters can conjure.