Slept On.

Five Rad Recent Local Releases You May Have Missed.

We like to think that we here at Central Track have our fingers firmly on the local music pulse. From time to time, though, we find ourselves in a situation where a glut of new local releases all come our way at once, flooding our inboxes and stacking up on our proverbial desks.

That said, we’ve come across an abundance of fresh local releases that we regrettably haven’t gotten around to in the timeliest fashion. Now, in this space, we hope to rectify that, at least to an extent.

Artist: Cutter.
Album: EP.
Recommended If You Like: Skateboarding to the mall for a round of pinball.
Also Worth Knowing: Released back in August, Cutter’s second EP starts with a bang, and spastically ping-pongs in and out of chiptune, electro-punk and synth-pop territories in its quick four-track run. It also ends quicker than you can burn three lives in Contra. And, like in that 1988 classic, this one will sucker you in again and again.

Artist: Party Static.
Album: This Isn’t Music.
Recommended If You Like: Getting your way, being spoiled.
Also Worth Knowing: If you’re going to potentially pigeonhole yourself with a word like “party” in your band name, you sure as hell better exude the very “no fucks given” essence that such a word implies. Fortunately, Party Static’s debut EP — which is full of impudent talk-y vocals, siren-like screams, fuzzy bass lines and songs that range from bratty (“I Want”) to reckless (“Sex in the Neighborhood”) — most certainly finds the band living up to its name.

Artist: Fingerless Ghost.
Album: The Comeback Cowboy (Single).
Recommended If You Like: The soundtracks from Rankin/Bass’ claymation specials.
Also Worth Knowing: Equal parts Texas swing and soul-infused ’60s rock, Fingerless Ghost’s output of “modern oldies” manages to sound vaguely familiar, reminiscent of a dozen things at once, and yet, somehow, slightly fresh at the same time. “The Comeback Cowboy” finds a jaunty horn section and plunky piano helping to fill out a tune about the day Big Tex burned down. It’s appropriate that the band so effortlessly evokes feelings of nostalgia with its more modern sounds: We imagine the person responsible for designing the new-look Big Tex is hoping their creation will have that same effect.

Download it here.

Artist: War Party.
Album: Tomorrow’s A Drag.
Recommended If You Like: Sleeveless jean jackets, racing for pink slips.
Also Worth Knowing: Prior releasing its debut full-length cassette, War Party’s output of singles and seven-inches have varied in both their quality and their indebtedness to various 1960s influences. Here, though, the band has finally assembled a 13-track beast chock full of Wurlitzer, horns and backing vocals. Whether the members are tipping their caps to early Kinks-era protopunk or Shays-esque garage rock, they manage here to turn in their most unified work to date.

Artist: Kaela Sinclair.
Album: Sun &Mirror.
Recommended If You Like: Looking pensive on the dancefloor.
Also Worth Knowing: Though this marks the debut for Denton newcomer Kaela Sinclair, it’s got all the ingredients to help the 23-year-old become the Little D’s next big thing. To that end, Sun & Mirror features production from Midlake’s McKenzie Smith and string arrangements courtesy of Daniel Hart and The Polyphonic Spree’s Buffi Jacobs .