Austin, Texas today is more synonymous with condos, trendy eateries and tech bros than with the bustling live music scene that put it on the map in the first place. Yet, if you can look past the skyline you will still find cultural sparks flying at clubs along the city’s Red River Street. Formed just over a year ago during a wild house show in Austin, PLAX features a lineup of Austin musicians responsible for keeping rock and roll and punk alive and well in the capital city. The “outsider punk band” features members of venerable local acts like the OBN III’s, Spray Paint, Skeleton and more. In other words, veterans of a music scene that prides itself on blasting ear drums in beer-soaked clubs and giving zero fucks. PLAX is a clear product of the collective experience of its members, all of whom are on a mission to defy conventional expectations on their new album Clean Feeling, which is out August 11th on Super Secret Records.
Today Glide Magazine is presenting an exclusive first listen to the new album from PLAX. From the explosive chug of album opener “Boring Story”, we are thrown into a beautiful fire of punk mayhem. The songs here are raw and serrated as the members careen back and forth with the kind of intensity that is rarely captured in the studio. This is the kind of music that needs to be cranked up loud and accompanied by a case of Lone Star Beer. Mostly, Clean Feeling is a signal that the gritty punk rock spirit is alive and well in Austin.
In a recent interview with Culture Creature, PLAX bassist Michael Goodwin shared a bit of the story behind the album:
“We released a demo and Chris (guitar) and I added a weird analog synth track we did years prior to PLAX, at the end of the tape and called it ‘Clean Feeling’. When Chris and I made that synth track years prior I was in the midst of a pretty weird time in my life and I liked the juxtaposition of a clean feeling when I was lacking clarity. Also a bit of a logophile and really like the way those 2 words look and sound together.”
LISTEN:
Clean Feeling will be available on LP, CD and download on August 11th via Super Secret Records. It is available for pre-order HERE.
