RELEASES

"It's all about the bass isn't it? It is for This Microwave World, Austin's premier post-apocalyptic dance quintet. Maybe not all about the bass. Brandon Loe's low end might not be half as fierce without Sean O'Neal's powerful vocals. Red States is TMW's first full-length, although its fourth release, a collection of ideas, revelations, and riots belted out by O'Neal and driven by Kevin Bybee's always-immediate drumming. Opening with the vintage "December Was a Sham," O'Neal instills anxiety and impulse that continues throughout, with pixie keyboardist Erin Mikulenka's backing vocals mocking response. Shouting back to the Eighties with zeal, the Rapturesque "You Are a Riot," Britt Daniel-backed "The Party Line," and organ-driven "She's Insecure" all stand on their own as summer dance party hits. But next to the darkness of "The Year of Living Enviously," "A Model Life," and closer "The Hours," the ass-shakers seem almost trite: crowd-pleasers vs. boundary-pushers. This Microwave World is combustible, both on album and on stage, and while they have a lot of fun with the upbeat numbers, the drug-addled edge of romance shines a lot brighter. That combustion is what makes a great band...and oftentimes breaks it, too."
- The Austin Chronicle

"What do you do when you find an atomic bomb buried in the desert, waiting to go off? That's the impression I got when I popped this unassuming disc in my CD player the other night: the feeling that I was listening to an album that should eventually be on SPIN's "Top 100 of the '00s" or somesuch list, rattled off by trendy hipsters twenty years from now as a seminal disc in their musical epiphanies."
- Splendid E-Zine

"Local post-punk powerhouse the Arm is getting quite the bad-boy reputation. After bassist Alex Ramirez face-planted some chick at his inaugural show during Emo’s free week, we’ve seen blood, whiplash, cursed equipment, and now a fight with a Kiwi and a mic stand prior to their SXSW showcase."
- Austin Chronicle

"Guests of the Nation is a powerful, well-constructed album that delivers catchy pop songs throughout the forty-minute playing time. Nothing better can emerge from indie rock this year; and in the future, Guests of the Nation will be heralded in the same lofty context as Pavement’s Slanted and Enchanted, Sonic Youth’s Goo, and Dinosaur Jr.’s Bug."
- Stankygroove.com

"Hüsker Dü meets Guided by Voices. Austin's reigning indie rock kings sound like neither, yet incorporate the former's heart-on-sleeve demeanor and the latter's drunken young-adult angst. The long-awaited Guests of the Nation documents the emergence of co-frontman Beaty Wilson as a sunnier foil to the firebrand song craft of ex-Silver Scooter bassist John Hunt."
- Austin Chronicle

"Subset finally nailed it, that happy space in my head where indie pop belongs. Jangly yet slightly dissonant guitars (and the guy can obviously play his ass off), solid and powerful drumming, great vocal melodies, and excellent songwriting with variety for days."
- Audiogalaxy

A True Collector's Gem! We unearthed a few more - Soon to Sell Out!

"A tip for you. If you see the Tight Spot label on a CD...BUY(sic) IT. This up-and-coming Austin-based label seems to have good ears for good things...and this is particularly true in the case of the band Masonic. The band's ultra melodic guitar rock is simultaneously happy, dreamy, and hypnotic. What impresses us most is that the band manages to conjure up so many feelings using nothing but guitars and drums. Simple ingredients perhaps...but Masonic is a band that just goes to show that the intent of the people making the music is just as important as the music itself. Part of the reason these songs sound so fresh and genuine is that the band is not trying too hard. Instead of attempting to impress people and push things to the limit...they just let their songs flow naturally from their spirits. There's a wonderful homey sound to these compositions that gives us the impression that this album was recorded in a home studio. Whatever the case, the sound is nice, thick, and quite personal. Cool tunes like "Say Goodbye," "Satellite Tonight," "Friday Night Song" (yes!), and "Way Down Avenue" are sure to please fans of underground pop. GREAT stuff...! If John Peel heard this disc *he'd LOVE it... (Rating: 5+)"
- babysue 12/01/01

"John Hunt, the man partially responsible for the superbly original sounds of Austin's Silver Scooter, has left his longtime band with the intention of concentrating more heavily on another Austin band, Fivehead, in which he plays guitar and sings. They've just released a new EP entitled "Big Mistake Factory" and it sounds more like the Silver Jews than Silver Scooter. The disc opens with the borderline brilliant "Cape Codders," which employs one of the same kind of catchy, laid melodies that made Pavement so damn likeable. As the EP progresses, the band ditches the slacker sound and turns up the volume and energy levels as they tear through upbeat rockers like "Moelling" and "Halftime Show," relying on pounding drums and fuzzy guitars a la Eric's Trip. There's also a few slow songs like "Last Vegas Stance" and "#1 Heart" where the band strays from the straight up guitar/bass/drums attack and tinkers with the sounds of piano, cello, lap steel skillsaw, but they aren't as immediately endearing as the others. All in all, "Big Mistake Factory" is a huge success, presenting Fivehead as a band that is capable of rocking out in a tried and true fashion without sounding unoriginal."
- Basement Life 06/25/01

"If most alternative pop albums are garish halogen lamps, or tacky frosted neon, bedbug's Happiest of Hours is a vintage hurricane lamp...Highly recommended to Luna fans..."

- Austin Chronicle 02/16/01

“Built a castle in my yard, even put a moat around it and proclaimed myself in charge. Attempts to charge admission on the tours resulted in a furiously staged affair, so now I live nowhere.”