Music Feature
(From left to right) Ryan Spears, Rangeley Grisel, and Austin Smith are in it for the long haul.

In Bloom

Vicious Firs have finally arrived, and they’ve got the no-B.S. EP to prove it.
JOEY KEETON
A typical Vicious Firs concert is not something that you follow out of the corner of your eye while drinking beer and doing shots with your friends at the bar. It’s like being strapped to the undercarriage of a ’89 IROC-Z a...


The Cush is Texas psych at its best.

Comfy Perch

Awakened from hibernation, psych-rockers The Cush return with a new album that digs up old, local roots.
STEVE STEWARD
When a 20-year-old like Lorde can essentially rule the musical landscape, you have to wonder if there’s room for grown-ups. But that thought doesn’t even cross the minds of Burette and Gabrielle Douglas, the husband-and-wif...



Daniel Slatton (left) and Jake Murphy have put the past behind them — in more ways than one.

Silky Thread

Natural Anthem’s debut record is a psychedelic progression.
JOEY KEETON
In a loft space in an unassuming Kennedale neighborhood, guitarist/singer Jake Murphy and drummer Daniel Slatton tune up for a rehearsal. As Slatton bangs out a few patterns on his six-piece kit, Murphy wires a pedal between hi...


Bludded Head’s Reign in Bludd

Killer or Filler?

Bludded Head, Lou Charles, and Not Half Bad run the gamut.
FORT WORTH WEEKLY STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS
Nevada Hill’s doom project Bludded Head continues to churn out new material even while he’s undergoing cancer treatments. And from two diverse ends of the pop music spectrum, punks Not Half Bad and rapper Lou Charles keep t...



Son

Just Peachy

On its new EP, Son of Stan nails perfect pop.
ANTHONY MARIANI
Jordan Richardson appears to be in complete control of his muse. Last year, his songwriting vehicle, Son of Stan (named after his father), released its debut album, the stellar and slightly experimental Divorce Pop. Earlier thi...


(From left to right) Alex Poulon, Matthew Baggins, Stephanie Donaghey, and LaVern Merigold are Toy Gun.

Rocked and Loaded

Toy Gun aims to Please, Please You.
EDWARD BROWN
The oft-romanticized idea of the singer-songwriter slaving away in solitude was never one that Stephanie Donaghey bought into. Despite her late hours writing poetry and listening to Leonard Cohen albums alone, the frontwoman fo...



Music

Killer or Filler?

Jacob Furr, Henry the Archer, and Fogg lead this month’s review of new local recordings.
FORT WORTH WEEKLY STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS
Like Jordan Richardson (a.k.a. Son of Stan), who recently returned home to Fort Worth after spending most of his adult professional life in Los Angeles, and Bummer Vacation’s Paul Hernandez, who relocated from Dallas to Fort ...


Forget Willie and Waylon. The most talked-about Outlaw album is Willis Alan Ramsey.

Rocky Mountain Way

There are several good reasons why Willis Alan Ramsey’s sophomore album has taken 40 years to come out.
JEFF PRINCE
Willis Alan Ramsey was barely out of his teens when he released a remarkable debut album that sounded like a greatest-hits project from a veteran artist. Now, 40 years later, Ramsey is more famous for having never released a se...



“I’m not really into the whole ‘bro country/party all the time’ kind of music that you hear a lot on the radio.”

Ryan’s Hope

On his new album, this Fort Worth singer-songwriter shows that rock and soul have a place in countrified music.
JIMMY FOWLER
Country music is chock-full of great drinking songs, but Fort Worth singer-songwriter Mike Ryan, 28, may have recorded the classic ode to toking up on his smart, addictive new album, Bad Reputation. “Red Eye Flight” is an i...


Artists from as far afield as Germany, Peru, Russia, Sweden, Canada, and Italy –– and Texas –– call Saint Marie Records “home.” Tony Robles

Shoegaze Explosion

Fort Worth label Saint Marie Records has gone from two artists to nearly 50 in only three years.
KENNETH KOST
After starting out in 2011 with just two artists, Saint Marie Records has blossomed into a globe-spanning label with 46 artists and more than 50 releases. The thought of a local-centric label simply never appealed to owner Wyat...