The Bright Light Social Hour | |
|---|---|
 The Bright Light Social Hour performing at Sloss Music & Arts Fest 2016 inBirmingham, Alabama | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Austin, Texas, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Escondido Sound,Frenchkiss Records,Modern Outsider |
| Members | Jackie O'Brien Curtis Roush Zac Catanzaro Mia Carruthers Juan Alfredo Ríos |
| Past members | Edward Braillif Joseph Mirasole A.J. Vincent Ryan O'Donoghue Thomas Choate |
| Website | thebrightlightsocialhour |
The Bright Light Social Hour is an American psychedelic rock band fromAustin, Texas. The band is composed of Jackie O'Brien on bass and vocals, Curtis Roush on guitar and vocals, Zac Catanzaro on drums,Mia Carruthers on keys and vocals, and Juan Alfredo Ríos on percussion.
In September 2004,Southwestern University students Curtis Roush (guitar), Thomas Choate (drums) and Jackie O’Brien (vocals/keyboards), along with Ryan “Badcock” O’Donoghue (bass) began playing together as apost-hardcoreart rock collective. They were often billed with area hardcore bands such as 25 Dollar Massacre, Thumbscrew andAt All Cost and quickly grew a reputation for their visceral live shows. The band took a year hiatus while Roush studiedaudio engineering and O’Brien studiedlinguistics andFlamenco guitar inMadrid, during which time Choate moved away to studyeco building.[1]
In October 2006, upon O’Brien's return, the band brought in Joseph Mirasole, a drummer from a local high school drum line, viaCraigslist.[2] During this period the band recorded their first studio EP,Touches. Soon after, the band relocated toAustin where O’Brien and Roush enrolled in Master's programs at theUniversity of Texas. They parted ways amicably with Badcock, with Jackie taking over bass duties and Roush helping with vocals.[3]
In 2008 they released the EPLove Like Montopolis, which showcased a more delicate, downtempopost-rock sound, and brought on local singer-songwriter A.J. Vincent on keys and vocals.[4]
The band continued to grow their reputation with consistent high energy shows in southern states, their sound evolving to include elements ofsoul,southern rock andpsychedelia.[5] The band released their debut full-length album in late 2010, entitledThe Bright Light Social Hour. The album was recorded in Austin during summer 2010 with producerDanny Reisch.
Momentum built for the band under the leadership of new manager Alex O'Brien, and in March 2011 they swept the 29th Annual Austin Music Awards duringSXSW,[6] with an unprecedented 6 awards, including Band of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year (for their song "Detroit").[7] Subsequently, The Bright Light Social Hour began a relentless touring schedule, playing hundreds of shows across the United States, Canada and Mexico including opening forAerosmith and appearances atLollapalooza,Austin City Limits,Hangout,Sasquatch!,Wakarusa andOttawa Bluesfest.[8]
In January 2013, citing growing personal and creative differences, Vincent was replaced by keyboardist/guitarist Edward "Shreddward" Braillif, whom Mirasole had known DJing in Austin.[9][10]
On June 25, 2013 Mirasole, Roush and O'Brien were in attendance at SenatorWendy Davis' famous filibuster ofTexas Senate Bill 5. Inspired by the ferocity of the crowd gathered in the Capitol, they rushed to their studio and by the morning had released the song "Wendy Davis," with an accompanying video made in part with protest footage taken on the band's phones. The video was featured inMSNBC's national coverage of the event.[11][12]
In May 2013 the band announced they'd begun work on their second full-length album, to be performed, produced and engineered by Roush, O'Brien and Mirasole, and mixed byChris Coady.[13]
On January 19, 2015, after a severe and protracted battle withbipolar I disorder, Alex O'Brien, the band's long-time manager and Jackie's brother, committed suicide. Jackie discovered him outside the band's home studio where he resided soon after suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had resigned his position as manager months earlier, but continued to advise the band until his death.[14]
On January 20, the band announced viaThe Huffington Post[15] that their newest album,Space Is Still the Place would be released March 10, 2015 onFrenchkiss Records.
On February 17, 2015,Jay Z'sLife+Times premiered the music video for their first single, "Infinite Cities", directed by bassist/singer Jackie O'Brien.[16]
Space Is Still the Place was released on March 10 to positive reviews, described byAllMusic's Mark Deming as "an ambitious and wildly entertaining journey into the minds of the men who created it."[17] The band celebrated the release with a sold-out performance at Stubb's Austin including a tribute to Alex featuring prominent Austin musiciansRay Wylie Hubbard,Walker Lukens,Megafauna, Migrant Kids, and members ofBlack Joe Lewis & the Honeybears.[18]
Songs fromSpace Is Still the Place have been featured inHBO'sVice Principals,MTV'sTeen Wolf,Fox'sBrooklyn Nine-Nine,The CW'sRiverdale,NBC'sMidnight, Texas,Audience'sKingdom,USA'sShooter,Hulu'sShut Eye,Terrence Malick's 2017 filmSong to Song,Ubisoft'sFar Cry 5 and aNintendo Switch commercial.[19][20][21][22]
Following the release ofSpace Is Still the Place, TBLSH embarked on a year-long tour of the United States, Canada and Mexico, including runs supportingDr. Dog,Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros,Dave Matthews Band,The Flaming Lips andGalactic, and appearances atCorona Capital andShaky Knees Music Festival.[23]
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On November 13, 2015, shortly before taking the stage atLincoln Hall (Chicago), the band heard news of theNovember 2015 Paris attacks and scrambled to have their performance recorded. Soon after, the digital album,Live at Lincoln Hall, was available for download from the band'sBandcamp page in exchange for any donation to theFrench Red Cross.[24]
In March 2016, TBLSH released a cover ofThe Beach Boys' "All I Wanna Do", which was featured on theAll Along the Moontower: Austin Gets Psychedelic compilation.[25]
On November 4, 2016, TBLSH andIsrael Nash released the three-song collaborative EPNeighbors. The EP was recorded between the two bands' studios near Austin, and was released digitally and as a limited edition 7" vinyl record.[26]
In January 2017, TBLSH were hired by executive producerBryan Cranston to compose the theme for theAmazon Video seriesSneaky Pete, entitled "Harder Out Here".[27]
On January 20, Donald Trump's Inauguration Day, TBLSH released theJim Eno-produced single, "Tear Down That Wall," described by theAustin-American Statesman as "a searing ode to unity." The accompanying video features Austin musicians as well as Cuban youth smiling and waving middle fingers.[28]
On September 28, 2018 TBLSH releasedMissing Something, a five-song EP produced by the band and mixed bySpoon'sJim Eno, viaModern Outsider.[29] TheAustin Chronicle premiered an O'Brien-directed music video for the song "Trip With Lola."[30] Another O'Brien-directed video featuring frogs leaping from breasts in slow motion followed for "Missing Something", winning Best Music Video at the Top Indie Film Awards and earning official selection at the Austin Music Video Festival, Berlin Music Video Awards and Erotic & Bizarre Art Film Festival in Alicante, Spain.
On January 3, 2019Relix announced the February 1 release of a new album, entitledJude Vol. I and premiered the single "Lie To Me (Große Lüge)". The album was produced byChris Coady and recorded atSunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood.[31]
Following an extensive North American spring tour, the band took some time off, returning to the stage in November with new drummer Zac Catanzaro ofWalker Lukens.
On September 26, 2019, the 50th anniversary ofThe Beatles'Abbey Road, TBLSH released a cover of "Sun King".[32]
The band returned withJude Vol. II on August 28, 2020. Released onRoll Call Records, six of the album's eight tracks were recorded by Chris Coady in the same session asJude Vol. I. Lead single "Enough" was recorded in late 2019 by Curtis and Jackie at their studio, Escondido Sound.Medium premiered the song and video, writing, "Brimming with buttery psychedelic aromas amid tints of polished dream-pop, “Enough” reveals not only the talent, but the brilliant innovation of The Bright Light Social Hour." The video was nominated for 4 awards at the Austin Music Video Festival, winning an honorary "best psychedelic astral orgy" award.[33]
In 2021, the band was reported to be appearing on the podcastStorybound.[34]
In May 2021, they released the two-song EPEnter Weed Martyr, featuring single/video "Guillotine Billionaires". Following keyboardist/guitarist Shreddward Braillif's early 2021 departure, the EP showcased a three-piece TBLSH consisting of O'Brien, Roush and Catanzaro.[35]
In November 2021, the band issued the 11th anniversary edition of their debut album,The Bright Light Social Hour. The reissue introduced lost track "Ocean", which was cut from the original track list when mixing time ran dry, as well as a demos EP titledSound and the Jury. The release show at Mohawk Austin marked the debut performance of new keyboardist/vocalist Mia Carruthers.[36]
In March 2022 they released another Beatles cover/video, "I Me Mine", recorded during theCOVID pandemic at the request ofWhite Denim's James Pertralli. That same month, new percussionist Juan Alfredo Ríos of Austin bands Como Las Movies and Easy Compadre! made his debut appearance with the band atSXSW 2022.[37]
In August 2022, TBLSH released a cover ofMadonna's "La Isla Bonita" featuringIsrael Nash, marking the debut recording of the new five-piece lineup. In September they released the single "The Sheriff" protesting police brutality, with a version featuring hip-hop duoRiders Against the Storm.[38] They followed up withSmoked Out in January 2023, continuing with the heavier,industrial-influenced sound of The Sheriff, with a video protesting cannabis-related incarceration benefittingLast Prisoner Project.
In February 2023, TBLSH were featured on The Song Confessional podcast, which produced theWalker Lukens-TBLSH collaborative single "$eed".[39]
In March 2023, The Bright Light Social Hour shared the single/video "Not New" and announcedEmergency Leisure. Earmilk described "Not New" as "a mesmerizing blend of Texas trippiness and disco-punk groove" and "a testament to the band's ability to create a tight yet bewildering journey with groove-rich drums, psychedelic synths, and a dirty dancefloor payoff that would makeNile Rodgers blush".[40] Additional album singles "Prefecture", "Most High", "Small Celebrations" and "Lifers Only" led toEmergency Leisure's release on August 2 on the band's own Escondido Sound label. The album received high praise for the band's continually surprising evolution, withThe Cosmic Clash stating, "From start to finish,Emergency Leisure delivers an experience greater than the sum of its parts. Gorgeously arranged and produced, it’s a journey worth taking again and again."[41]
A supporting tour of the US, Canada and Mexico kicked off in Alaska, with most dates opened by Montreal'sChoses Sauvages, who the band site as an inspiration forEmergency Leisure.
Several songs from the album feature music videos and studio videos produced by O'Brien's film production company, Hermano Sisters Films.[42]
The Bright Light Social Hour operate as an audio production and engineering unit, recording and mixing themselves and artists such asMegafauna,Ray Wylie Hubbard,Walker Lukens,Madam Radar,Migrant Kids andBombay the Rapper out of their Austin studio, Escondido Sound.[43]
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