{"id":143803,"date":"2026-01-30T07:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T07:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/143803\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T07:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T07:22:17","slug":"the-black-crowes-bring-southern-hospitality-tour-to-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/143803\/","title":{"rendered":"The Black Crowes bring Southern Hospitality tour to Austin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin-based duo Almost Heaven<\/a> are stepping into a bold new chapter with the release of their debut EP, Raw Cranium, arriving on all streaming platforms Friday, January 30. They’ll celebrate the same day at an EP release show<\/a> starting at 8:30 pm at Brushy Street Commons. <\/p>\n

Known for their blend of indie dance, post-punk, and electro-pop delivered with an infectious, high-impact live presence, the duo introduces the project alongside focus track \u201cBaby Teeth.\u201d The EP will be released via their newly launched label, Raw Cranium Records<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Almost Heaven is now a duo: West Texas native Stefan Barraza and Austin-born drummer Jaelyn Valero, who has previously toured with local act Farmer\u2019s Wife. The project began as a solo endeavor by Barraza in El Paso before his move to Austin in 2024, where it evolved into its fully realized form. The duo has spent the past year refining a distinct identity and cultivating an enigmatic, high-energy performance style that has quickly earned attention within Austin\u2019s music scene.<\/p>\n

Raw Cranium follows a strong run of singles that introduced listeners to Almost Heaven\u2019s wide range of sounds. The double-single release of \u201cHypnoxia\u201d and \u201cFever Trying to Blow\u201d arrived in November 2025, with the latter accompanied by a fun, early 90s-esque music video<\/a>. \u201cOscillation\u201d in January 2026 and was highlighted as Song of the Day<\/a> by KUTX. <\/p>\n

These early tracks established the EP\u2019s “bloghouse revival” influence and experimental electronic core, marked by thumping drums, plenty of cowbell, and vocals that oscillate between spoken-word, softer melodies, and cathartic screams. The result is a club-ready EP that nods to influences like LCD Soundsystem, Crystal Castles, and a dash of Daft Punk.<\/p>\n

The EP gets started with a dystopian electro opener that feels like Daft Punk\u2019s \u201cTechnologic\u201d dropped into Blade Runner. “Power Music (Elektrik Revival)” is pop-influenced but ominous as Barraza’s vocals deliver a dark, tongue-in-cheek warning about the state of things.<\/p>\n

Two tracks have a dreamy, sweeter feel: “Oscillation” and closing track “Baby Teeth.” The former drifts in Postal Service territory with Valero’s vocals floating over muffled tones. The hazy, sleepy trip gently presses in instead of exploding, and is easily one of the EP\u2019s most intimate moments. The latter sounds like an homage to MGMT’s “Kids,” including the refrain “Control yourself.”<\/p>\n

Some more driving dance tracks fill out the meat in the middle. “Fever Trying to Blow” offers a sweaty release about shaking off the week and letting the floor take over, while the hypnotic pull of “Commotion” sounds more like it’s surfacing from underwater. The trance continues through “Hypnoxia,” featuring jungle-style drums perfect for late-night darkened dancefloors.<\/p>\n

All of these songs were written by Almost Heaven, produced and mixed by Ernesto Grey \u2014 known for his work with Alma Mu\u00f1eca, Farmer\u2019s Wife, Font, and more \u2014 at his Austin studio, and mastered by Greg Obis. The EP release also doubles as a debut for Raw Cranium Records.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really feels like more than just music that we’re putting out right now, but we’re also initiating a big shift in our creative ecosystem,” said Barraza and Valero in a press release. “We\u2019re excited to share it and invite people into the world of Raw Cranium.”<\/p>\n

The EP release show at Brushy Street Commons includes bands Amelia’s Best Friend, Witches Exist, Almost Heaven, and The Opera. Doors open at 8 pm and music begins at 8:30.<\/p>\n

Fans can pre-save Raw Cranium via Distrokid<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Austin-based duo Almost Heaven are stepping into a bold new chapter with the release of their debut EP,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,575,278],"class_list":["post-143803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-concerts","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}