Byline Houston

The Austin-based soul band Tomar and The FCs recently released their second full length album, Rise Above. While Tomar and The FCs are indeed “Austin-based”; they are signed to Houston’s Splice Records and are in town for their album release show at Continental Club tonight. Opening up the show this evening is the soul & jazz sensation Madeline Edwards.

In the earlier part of this century, I discovered the music of Josh Rouse while living in the Bible Belt Buckle of America: Nashville, Tennessee. That’s right. Music City. And from August through the end of 2003, I could not possibly get enough of Seal IV and Josh Rouse’s 1972. Predictably, I tired of Seal IV but 1972 still stays with me… And every subsequent Josh Rouse release as well. To me, his music is perfect. It can turn dark into light. There’s humor mixed with epic string arrangements.

A calm has been reached within the auditory realm Chelsea Wolfe has been tirelessly building for the past ten years. Her emergence, marked by 2010’s The Grime and the Glow, was the start of a spellbinding journey that saw the genre blending, fringe-folk artist plant her roots and grow into one of the most distinguished and inventive singer-songwriter acts of our time.