Since 2012, Austin’s Big Bill has shaken audiences with their darkly comic take on art-punk. They pair pulsating, idiosyncratic music with a singularly weird POV reminiscent of bands like Talking Heads or Devo-- the voice of a comically upset misanthrope, destined to lose. With their explosively chaotic live shows and carefully layered recordings, Big Bill has amassed a cult following in Texas and nationwide.

Big Bill’s music has evolved across many personnel changes—the current lineup being Eric Braden on vocals, Alan Lauer on bass, Alex Riegelman on guitar, and Jeff Olson (formerly of White Denim) on drums—morphing from the rawest, weirdest punk into much more sonically varied territory. This growth is evident on their third full-length Strawberry Seed, which features the most ambitious tweak of their formula yet, including a broader musical as well as emotional palette, taking more direct inspiration from the band members' progressive politics.

Strawberry Seed marks the first Big Bill release made without founding guitarist/co-vocalist/songwriter Cody Braden, and the band has filled the gap with songs which both evoke their more bizarro past (“Poverty of Wires,” “Throw It Away”) as well as songs like “Clean Feeling” and “Crinkle the Wrapper” evoking The Clean, or even Elliott Smith. On “Beautiful Angels of the City,” they stretch across both sides of that coin–giving the emotionally vulnerable wisdom that only true tricksters can conjure.