Shortwave Party

Shortwave Party is a rising new band based in Austin, Texas, that’s been performing and recording since October 2011. Within that time-frame, it has gone from playing small backyard parties and weeknight shows for scant crowds to playing weekends at popular venues with well-established local acts like Knifight, Bobby Jealousy, One Hundred Flowers, Baker Family, Shivery Shakes and Dikes of Holland. In October 2012, the band released a 7-inch that was recorded and mixed at its home studio. The band has also performed live on KVRX, the student-run, independent radio station at the University of Texas, received regular show recommendations in the colorful local publication The Austin Cut, and recently won over a writer at the Austin Deli who wrote a piece on the band and is nominating them as an entrant in the “band of the month poll” on the Austin Deli music blog at the time of this writing.

The band’s sound is firmly rooted in pop music, but such a broad classification doesn’t paint a full enough picture. (The Smiths if they’d been a punk band with a female singer? Perhaps. But even that description fails to tidily sum up the bulk of Shortwave Party’s material.) Guitarists Justin Finney and Brady Porche take turns playing jangly arpeggios and leads over melodic chord progressions. Bassist Michael Kuntzman plays nonintrusive melodic lines that still rise up into the mix and command your attention. Drummer Dolores J. Diaz propels the songs with a dance beat that sets the often-bouncy tempos. Vocalist Shelby DuPerier, who might otherwise overpower a less catchy instrument section, stands out as the face, or rather the main voice, in the band’s sound. The alto singer’s voice moves effortlessly into a smooth falsetto at times and her timbre is smooth. She also belts it out with a soulfulness that sounds genuine in an age where polished sounding Diva clones ape the few decent female singers out there. Altogether, it’s an exciting combination.

For the future, the band looks forward to playing more strong bills in town, launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund recording costs for an EP and touring, playing SXSW (with a bit of luck) and furthering the momentum that has gotten them this far. And, of course, getting signed someday and being able to make a living doing what they love: playing music they love would be nice. But then again, the band so enjoys just being a part of the local scene that the simple joy wrought from a drunken night of fun with other bands is enough to sustain them.