Dallas Music News: What House Parties Learned in 'Hindsight,' Toadies Share 'Dark Secret'

House Parties is the latest woman-fronted punk band to emerge alongside acts like penny bored, Matchstick Ghost and Velvet Skyline. Their first, high-energy single “Hindsight” is available now on Spotify. A reflection on moving on from bad situations and bad people, the uplifting track is bolstered by emocore harmonies and exuberant riffs. House Parties will be featured on Palm Mute Records’ upcoming Woah Oh! That's What I Call Pop Punk compilation doing a cover of “Jamie All Over” by Mayday Parade.

“Waiting for You” is the new collaboration between North Texas R&B artist DAMOYEE and her friend and fellow Berklee College of Music student, multi-instrumentalist Timothy Stone. The two wrote, recorded and produced the lovingly nostalgic song about missing your friends, from their bedrooms in Texas and Connecticut during quarantine. Though they had never actually met on campus before, Stone and DAMOYEE connected via Discord to write the song together after they returned home from college to ride out the pandemic.

Metal band Dispositions came out swinging this week with their face-melting new video for single “Sacrilege.” Powerful and provocative, the song is an emphatically raised middle finger to the face of authority.

Hardcore trio Calculated Chaos released their self-titled debut album earlier this week. With 11 tracks in 17 minutes, the album is sure to make the most out of even the shortest commute across town. In spite of its brevity, the album packs a lot of diverse sounds — a South Park sample on “Dishonest,” ska guitars on “Yoke” and vocal variations on “First Impressions.” Hardcore might not be your favorite genre, but with this much variety, Calculated Chaos has made it more accessible to outsiders.

Ambient electronic act C I N E M A announced this week that it is rereleasing albums Tension and Influx as well as its new album Varia.V3 on PRIMARY.OPTICS, an experimental audio-visual imprint focused on sound and vision. The releases are available on cassette and limited edition 7-inch lathe cuts through the artist’s Bandcamp page.

North Texas rappers Yella Beezy and Erica Banks released their new single “Star” last Friday, Jan. 29. The song is the first of many to precede Beezy's upcoming album Blank Checc, set to be released sometime this year.

Fort Worth grunge legends Toadies announced their new line of coffee this week. Named “Dark Secret” after a line in their hit “Possum Kingdom” (“I’ll show you my dark secret”), the dark-roasted, Ethiopian-blend coffee from Dallas’s Full City Rooster will be available for a limited time. Singer Vaden Todd Lewis also announced that he has written a comic book series called Jigsaw Girl.

Kat and Brent Thompson, the husband-wife duo who founded and run Texas Ale Project along with David Stevens, talked recently about how the new Pantera Golden Ale was created after the surviving members of the band contacted them in early 2020. The new beer will be available March 1

Tommy Katona, singer and guitarist for Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute Texas Flood, opened up about the struggles the band and others have gone through since the start of the pandemic. While the band has been able to schedule shows around Texas during this time, Katona says audiences take live music for granted.

This Friday, Feb. 5, is Bandcamp Friday. On the first Friday of the month, the online music platform waves its fees, sending an average of 93% of your money directly to the artist after payment processor fees. This is a great way for you to support your favorite local bands.

Upcoming Shows

The Concert Crave Artist Showcase will take place this Friday, Feb. 5, at Gilley’s Dallas. The audience will see rappers compete for cash prizes.

Also on Friday, Americana act Raised Right Men takes the stage at Main at South Side (M.A.S.S.) in Fort Worth.

If you’re looking to make a bit of a trip north this Saturday, Feb. 6, Cody Canada and The Departed will play Bubba’s Brewhouse in Durant, Oklahoma.

In Arlington this Saturday, Hand Over Fist, Inherit Death, Towerhigh and Novakain bring the metal to Mavericks Bar and Grill in Arlington.

Singer-songwriter Tab Benoit will give two performances on each day next Thursday and Friday, Feb. 11 and 12, at The Kessler in Oak Cliff.