Posted on: April 21, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

These post-Spoon Austin indie-rockers ease into their four-song followup to Maps and Organs with a spacey little ballad that feels something written in the middle of a Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin bender, with bandleader Cody Ground’s vocals cracking right where Wayne Coyne’s vocals would have cracked. – Blurt, for Flashlights EP [8/10]

Fresh off the heels of the Flashlights EP, Austin’s Loxsly emerge from the lab with their third LP, Tomorrow’s Fossils (Little Mafia/Texas Heat, May 2009). This newest and perhaps most ambitious edition to the Loxsly discography retains the band’s signature synth pop sensibilities while revealing a darker layer. On one level it’s a concept album about science gone wild, about conflicts between technology and humanity. But each song stands strong on its own and takes on new meanings within the context of the album, giving Tomorrow’s Fossils remarkable depth. With this latest LP, Loxsly continues to showcase danceability, but this time out the lights are dimmer, the club’s air denser, the faces more somber. That isn’t to say the band takes themselves too seriously. (Recently on a live radio show for Austin’s KUT they performed a lovely rendition of Kermit’s “Rainbow Connection.”)

Loxsly stands out as an Austin original, staying true to their pop roots but back dropping songs with solid beats and swirling sound-scapes, most of which are produced by a combination of vintage synths and organs and a pedal steel filtered through who knows what. Out front they have a knack for melodies that stick with you, driven by Cody Ground’s smooth vox, melodic bass lines, and piercing guitar licks that cut through the curtain of sound. Their live shows–often doused in whim–have been compared to smaller scale Flaming Lips concerts. And their records are skillfully engineered, thematically and sonically, drawing from fertile Beach Boys harmonies, massive M83 textures, and playfully energetic, Deerhoof-like experiments.

Loxsly began in Waco, Texas, as 18-year-old Ground’s home recording project (2003’s Forecast A Brainstorm). Since then, Ground, who sings and plays the keys, has recruited high school friend Garrett Johnston on the guitar, Eryk Lugo on the bass, Justin Douglas on that magic pedal steel, and David Nathan on drums. Douglas records the band at his studio, Shine Studios, just east of downtown in Austin.

Besides finishing Tomorrow’s Fossils, the band has been busy shooting videos and playing shows in Texas and the surrounding states. They’re hitting the eastern US mid-May in support of the album and plan to keep at it through the summer.

Track List

01. Pedal To The Coast
02. Spines Came Unglued
03. You & I Were Working
04. Mouse Petals
05. Battalions
06. Pet Results
07. As The Constellation’s Arms Uncurled
08. Clicking Feet
09. Plastic Cones
10. Lamprey Eels
11. Sunk Alone
12. The Manual That You Wrote
13. Tomorrow’s Fossils

Praise For Loxsly:

Loxsly’s Flashlights EP floats higher and lighter, abetted by pedal steel on opener “Lamprey Eels” and piano on “Chopper,” showing the quintet’s maturity since 2006’s Maps and Organs LP. – Austin Chronicle

Loxsly’s driving mid-tempo rock is tinged with a slightly more haunting charm reminiscent of My Morning Jacket and The Flaming Lips, remaining experimental only when called for. – Flagpole Magazine

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