It’s definitely spring time in Texas. The weather has been beautiful lately; rich green pastures covering Montague County, chilly mornings and slightly warmer afternoons and suburban parks full of housewives with their litter of kids. Also, there has been some awesome music releases I wanted to talk about/ mention. Without further ado, let go on ahead and jump into it.

Devy Stonez - I LUV STONEY

There are a handful of rappers and hip hop artists I have kept plugged to my ear for the past few years, Devy Stonez being one of them. Why you ask? Smooth like a real playa style, digestible cadence, not so harsh on the ears and excellent party/kickback music. Yesterday, April 27th, Dallas honorable playboy released a NICE project, I Luv Stoney. My first thought, “ Just in time to enjoy this throughout summer ‘23”. The 8 track ep is tasteful and delightful, an exemplar of Devy’s brand of elegance. Playa music or bachelor rap, Devy has a very cool, suave way of exercising his freedom and the way his confident, laidback attitude allows him to move around women. “I’ma real P, I don’t play that shit”, strong indication of not only the flow of the lyricism but the overall tone, the vibe of the ep in my opinion. To top it off, the production behind this project is in direct correspondence to the artist and his creativity

Favorite Tracks: Say I Did, On The Screen, The Approach

Tap Devy Stonez’ LinkTree to check out the project on multiple DSP’s

P Vines- Drinkin N Ridin

My wish was fulfilled on Saturday, the 22th, at Lola’s in Ft Worth. I witnessed P Vines live, in front of my face at the Sad by Southwest festival. It was probably one of the coolest performances I’ve seen in a while. P Vines is a country band from Tyler, Texas I’ve been aware of for a little while. It’s easy to get infatuated with their brand of country. As a true Texan, its right up our alley. If you skim through their discography, you would be able to catch on to their drift. These aren’t a group of sad, southern, hopeless romantics, these are a group of country misfits with the outlaw spirit. Prior to the fest, these east Texas hooligans released a righteous single with the honky tonk spirit about drinking alcohol in the passenger seat, Drinkin and Ridin, available on multiple streaming platforms. If you’re a fan of country music, stripped down to its roots, you will become a fan of P Vines.

Tap the P Vines LinkTree to check out the new single

Ballista- The Game/Target Practice

For folks who don’t know, when people mention “ Ballista Territory”, they are referring to this band. Lead by the queen of North Texas hardcore, River, Ballista has been on amazing run for the past couple of years. During their most recent West coast run, Ballista released an 1, 2 punch combo that’s heavy on the speakers with an overload of aggression and colossal sound. If you have attended their recent shows, these two bangers have been performed in front of you and have been received quite well. Singles from their upcoming ep, Trans Day of Violence, these tracks produce the visceral necessity to mosh within the space you are in currently in. Target Practice features none other than Sary from Sanity Slip. This song in particular is crazy, Equipped with not one but TWO heavy breakdowns, mixed with the sheer intensity of each vocalist could possibly incite moshers catching mean right hooks in the pit. Their cover of Motorhead’s The Game is the most awesome cover ever. It brings me some much joy when the nostalgia kicks as the song shreds through my ears. Back then, I’d never thought I would find myself moshing to wrestler Triple H’s WWE theme song, then again I was only 10 or 11 years old. This ep is available now on all streaming platforms.

Bandcamp

Apple

Spotify

Honorary mentions:

Fromjoy :): - Fromjoy

Off top, I am a hardcore kid first and foremost, so metalcore, especially when its experimental, is an acquired taste for me. I found myself listening to the Houston metalcore group latest album, which was released earlier today, in my truck while running errands. Needless to say, I was driving with the stank face for majority of this time. When metalcore bands blur the lines of the genre and add an array of sounds to their music, it’s a huge hit or miss to me. Sometimes it sounds God awful, other times it’s alright. Fromjoy :): released an amazing body of work, powerful enough to keep an individual like myself glued to the project. If I were to describe this project in one sentence; the current generation’s eclectic sounds of alternative heaviness.

Tap Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp listen

Cover Your Tracks- Demo

Dallas Hardcore legend Andy Zarate is at it again yall! You know every time Andy is a band, he thinks to the formula that never breaks and never gets old; it has to be heavy and it has to be hardcore. Only available on Spotify, this 4 song demo is loaded with hardcore delight for your local tough guy to get busy to. There is a bit of groove and bounce present in this ep I thoroughly enjoy, giving this ep a fun listen

Tap Spotify