Institute and Billion

We have now entered what is called the dead zone of the live music scene here in Austin, Texas; it's actually starting to get a little chilly and all of the major bands are taking a quick break from banging hot young groupies on the road. They instead have decided to get their annual STD tests in before heading home to kiss their little cousins hello because nothing says Happy Holidays like seeing your 6 year old nephew all of a sudden sporting a herpes sore on the second of Hanukkah! So naturally the month of December brings tough times for us music lovers who still want to get a quality show or two in from time to time; we find ourselves convincing ourselves that some local acts are better than they actually are, or we are eagerly running off to go see Spoon or the Toadies for the 20th time this year.

Well one of the local acts I'll hopefully see soon is starting to get a little buzz on the national level and their name is Institute. This band is comprised of members from The Wiccans, Glue, and Recide and they bring a lazy post punk sound to the Austin music scene. Their lead singer Moses Brown sounds like he's just some drunk guy who stumbled upon a mic at a live band karaoke bar and all of a sudden started slurring barely discernible lyrics on stage while everyone else in the venue ran outside to grab a smoke and escape the horror. Honestly there's nothing really new that they bring to the table but I think they're worth checking out if you're looking for a cheap show while out on the town. They do at times remind of the band Protomartyr out of Detroit and because of that they get a rating of barely WEAK as opposed to straight up weak.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZySVeZgTSo

Next up is the UK duo Billion, they are producers who make the kind of music that would not normally qualify as my cup of tea as it sounds like something you'd hear playing over a Devil Wears Prada style show scene. But no matter how much I tried  to stop, I found myself dancing to it; I can see their music playing in some upscale lounge in Upper West Side Manhattan with guys who are just a little too old to be wearing hipster glasses (cough cough) dancing to it. Special is a pumping jam that sounds like it has Crystal Waters singing "100% pure looooooove!" on it, and yes  Ijust said pumping jam. I rate these guys kind of FRESH!
 https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Billon%2C%20Special%20feat.%20Maxine%20Ashley