Almost Heaven released their highly-anticipated EP, Raw Cranium last Friday, January 30th at Brushy Street Commons to a room bursting with bloghouse babes.
The duo celebrated the release of their debut EP, Raw Cranium, and shared the stage of the Historic East Side venue with their pals. Amelia’s Best Friend, Witches Exist and The Opera began the night by letting us hear some tracks off their newest EPs: “You’ll Have To Carry Me Back”, “shelter in the cocoon”, and “I Want This To Last”, respectively.
Almost Heaven ignited the night by playing Raw Cranium in its entirety.
The opening track “power music (elektrik revival)” sounds like a blend of “Flop” by Bassvictim and “U.B.C.L.” by MNDR. Their sound has something infectious in it and we’re all sick. The two are transforming Austin into the dance music capital of the world. They are constructing a world of ecstasy that forces fans to forget phones and dance like no one is watching. Stefan took up the whole stage declaring, “power music, electric revival” until the crowd believed it. This is the sound of promise under persecution.
“There’s a factory reset going down in the people’s brain and the kids, the kids are livestreaming the whole thing. They’re taking power back from the grid and putting it into little microchips for the people to eat” / “power music (elektrik revival).”
The spoken word intro sounds like following Stefan into a tunnel that leads to light. His inflection invokes a bit of panic, a hurried urgency that sounds like a polite demand, like in “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads.
Recently, the band was interviewed by Off Record, where Stefan’s appreciation for David Byrne was revealed. The lyrics, “stop making sense now” from “commotion” are a clear nod to the 1984 classic. It’s easy to admire the guy – Stefan had just come back from a dance class his friend was teaching. He is inspired by David’s dancing and said he is always trying to find new ways to be at home in his body. Stefan personifies dance music completely. He truthfully lives his lyrics, “you are what rock really means when you dance” from “hypnoxia”.
Almost Heaven’s vulnerability on stage formed a bubble for everyone to bounce around in. Each attendee felt like the most important person in the room, everyone’s magnetism compounded. People were dressed like the world was ending and they needed an excuse to wear their very best outfit one last time. It felt like the last day on earth, but without destruction, like we were all about to break ground on a new dimension. This EP is only the beginning of a new world called Raw Cranium Records.
I am a student at Texas State studying Digital Media and Psychology. I am always carrying my camera with me, it feels like my true voice. Some of my favorite artists are Courtney Barnett, Tainy, Frank Ocean, Art Lown, Fleshwater, Turnover, SZA and Wynton Kelly. Central Texas always has talented people passing through and I try to catch as many shows I can. I really love fashion, part of the fun of going to a concert is seeing what the artists wear on stage and everyone's outfits in the crowd. I tend to use musical elements in my fashion photography, the two are so intertwined to me. I also love to read and run, but not always at the same time.
