Casual Strangers

Can a robot act so human that we can’t tell it’s a machine? That’s the premise for the Turing Test, an experiment developed by Alan Turing in 1950 that evaluated artificial intelligence on the basis of whether a computer can offer such realistic responses to questions that the administrator can’t distinguish whether the subject is man or machine.

In a new short film based on the music of Austin psychedelic synth experimenters Casual Strangers, a cyborg comes to life in a white observation room and begins interacting with devices in the environment. There’s a centrifuge that spins colored paint into art designs, a television broadcasting scenes of life on Earth, and a cassette player loaded with Casual Strangers' 2016 tape Pink Panther, which the Chronicle’s Michael Toland describes as “an organic trip into the cosmic ether.”

And all the while, as it powers the experiments, the sapient cyborg becomes potently self-aware and decides to bring color to the stark white room by splattering paint.

The seven-minute clip is the directorial debut for Casual Strangers’ keyboardist Jaylinn Davidson – and also artistic revenge. Her bandmates Paul Waclawsky and Katey Gunn had recorded the track “Turing Test” on Davidson’s Moog Voyager without her input. In turn, she produced a rogue video for the song without featuring her bandmates in it.

Davidson built a set in her garage with material procured from Home Depot and Hobby Lobby, enlisting her friend Sara Eleta Reid to act in the process. She then shot the entire video on an iPhone 6 with the app FiLMiC Pro. Davidson says the project took over 200 hours, much of which was spent editing, but it was in post-production that she had an existential revelation that changed the plot to the video – and perhaps the understanding of life as we know it.

“During the editing process, I felt like, visually, it was missing a layer,” she says. “I’m such a space head, so I went to NASA’s website and layered some nebula scenes over the cyborg in the color part. All of a sudden it hit me: When she splatters the paint, it looks like the Horsehead Nebula! The paint looks like stars and galaxies!

“Then I kind of blew my own mind. I said, ‘Oh my God, she could be the Creator! The Creator could be a robot!’ That idea gave me chills.

“It all lined up so beautifully. At the very end, when she looks through the screen, that – to me – was humanity: flashes of what goes on here on Earth and our struggle,” continues Davidson. “When she looks into that and blows into her hand, out come the galaxies. That’s when she became a deity instead of an experiment.”

After you take a moment to process the possibility that our universe was created by a robot – and then ponder who built that robot – check out the new video for Casual Strangers' “Turing Test.” - Austin Chronicle

Former Bauhaus crooner Peter Murphy manages his occupation with both class and smarts, alternating new music with experiences that play to his base. Last time through Austin was in support of 2014’s rocking Lion, but here the Godfather of Goth presents an acoustic retrospective of his long career. Austin’s Casual Strangers cranked down recently with the instrumental acid ambience of Pink Panther, which forms the heart of the quartet’s opening set. – Michael Toland - Austin Chronicle

Probably one of the more interesting things about a group like Casual Strangers is that their music seems to be constantly evolving, never holding to a specific shape yet never really abandoning its own distinct form at the same time. Over the course of two albums--2014's Self-Titled and this year's Pink Panther--the Austin-based group (who describe their sound as "cosmic sludge") have shifted from an experimental rock sound that relied on traditional song structure to a certain extent to something a little more atmospheric, glacially paced, and freeform--music less rooted in specific genres and shaped more by an expansive creativity that, at times, brings to mind the kind of experimental instrumental pieces Pink Floyd were creating during their pre-Dark Side of the Moon era, the kind of meandering ambient jams meant for late night drives into the desert that could easily set your mind wandering off on some sort of inner cosmic journey. - The 405

A funny thing happened on the way to Casual Strangers' follow-up to its eponymous 2014 debut. Intending to record another studio LP, the Boxing Lesson offshoot instead followed its instincts, Paul Waclawsky, Jaylinn Davidson, Katey Gunn, and Jake Mitchell turning to wordless improvisational soundscapes recorded at home. Armed with an impressive collection of analog synths, the band journeys to a distant musical planet. The guitar-driven "Holocene Dream" indicates takeoff, "Cosmic Spaghetti" the flight, and "Brinca! Brinca!" the landing. Then it's time to explore this new world. Traversing the barren landscapes of "Cosmic Jokers," our intrepid locals hit alien civilization via the title track. "Future Passed" follows our travelers back to their ship, and "Little Lids" finds them once more in the void, contemplating all they've seen. Though a sidestep from the whimsical psych-pop of the debut, Pink Panther is even stronger, an organic trip into the cosmic ether.

***.5 - Austin Chronicle

“We gave ourselves space,” proclaims Paul Waclawsky, tracing Casual Strangers’ palpable evolution from experimental rockers to ambient instrumentalists. “Space from each other, from a recording studio, from the instruments we normally play in our live show.”

The Strangers’ second movement, a rose-colored cassette called Pink Panther, forgoes the skin-melting psychedelia and cheeky art-rock lyrics of the quartet’s eponymous 2014 debut in favor of meandering synth compositions and uncharted atmospheric jams. Credit the methodology: The bulk of the album resulted from analog home recording experiments in which tracks were constructed via round-robin improvisation on unusual instruments like a Farfisa synthesizer and 12-string guitar.

“It was like a game of telephone,” offers Waclawsky of Pink Panther’s minimalist rhapsodies. “This is what I hear, and this is what I put on the track.”

Another thread on the album draws from live sessions in which the entire band – Boxing Lesson alumni Waclawsky (guitars), Jaylinn Davidson (synths), and Jake Mitchell (percussion), plus ringer Katey Gunn (lap steel, synths) – embarks in off-the-cuff musical voyages in their loud, live band setup. Lead single “Holocene Dream,” the soundtrack to this oceanic color-trip video, draws from those recordings. Pink Panther, named after a potent formula of LSD, takes an instrumental spirit quest, and like all trips, the feeling lingers and informs everything thereafter.

“Perhaps this has been a detour so extreme it’s become a new direction,” allows Gunn. “We hope to incorporate this relaxed sound into our future projects.”

Pink Panther drops February 26 on Split Pursuit Records. - Austin Chronicle

Having released an excellent debut album back in 2014 that meandered merrily from alt-country to blues-rock to space-rock, taking in 80s synth-funk and straight-ahead punk-pop on the way, Austin’s Casual Strangers appear to have honed their sound in a more cohesive direction for album number two. Pink Panther is a collection of instrumentals which lean towards the cosmic, a tendency which becomes more pronounced as the album progresses.

Despite their trippy names, the opening brace of tracks, ‘Holocene Dream’ and ‘Cosmic Spaghetti’, are actually two of the less out-there numbers here. The former is churning, burning post-rock streaked with lovely, echo-heavy guitar, while the latter is a slow, contemplative piece with lyrical guitar which wouldn’t have been out of place of Pink Floyd’s The Endless River.

The following ‘Kangarang’ picks up the pace with some wig-out backwards guitar over aggressive, pounding drums. Synths swirl as the album’s overarching space-rock motif begins to make itself felt, and before long the track has dissolved into soupy ambience.

As the album continues, the influence of various Krautrock bands becomes more apparent. ‘Brinca! Brinca!’ recalls Harmonia and Cluster with squelching, witty synths, while one of the standout tracks, the drifting ‘Cosmic Jokers’, makes its inspiration plain in its title. Elsewhere, the gorgeous ‘Turing Test’ combines the bleeps of Sputnik-era pioneering electronic sound with John Carpenter-style uneasy synth-work.

As Pink Panther becomes more cosmic and esoteric, so the material gets stronger and the band’s virtuosity and creative energy comes through. Apparently, these tracks were constructed via improvisation, with band members adding their contributions using unusual equipment.

The last four tracks are all outstanding. The title track winningly combines a cheesy beat with icy, squalling synth and some spine-tinglingly good blues-flecked guitar. ‘Lost Coast’ sources early Brian Eno for a mournful, gentle waltz as effects-laden guitar spirals off into infinity.

Penultimate number ‘Future Passed’ is tense and moody, its noir sheen recalling Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack. This segues nicely into ‘Little Lids’, 10-plus minutes of experimental ambience on which the pitch shifts endlessly like quicksand, like old reel-to-reel tape gradually unspooling into obsolescence.

It’s incredibly brave for a band still establishing themselves to make a statement such as this on only their second album. The fact that Casual Strangers have pulled it off effortlessly, creating something which stands on its own as more than the sum of its influences, is testament to what a fantastic bunch of musicians they are. Whatever they do next will probably sound completely different again, and I can’t wait to hear whatever that is.

9/10 - Soundblab

Another band to have previously featured on the Monolith Cocktail, Austin, Texas’ progressive psych, and shoe gazer disciple deep thinkers Casual Strangers have caught our attention with this latest peregrination, the ‘Holocene Dream’. Gracing the periodical period of the title with a congruous meditative mix of Floyd, Amon Duul II, Dirt Music and the Creature With The Atom Brain, the band sweep entrancingly and plaintively across a troubled heated-up world. A meditation on the effects of global warming and the augurs of the “sixth extinction”, the Holocene Dream is a troubling night fright; a progressive instrumental wail into the ether. - Monolith Cocktail UK

Texas based band Casual Strangers are back with, what seems to be, a furious masterpiece! Holocene Dream goes all post-psychedelic while dropping an infinite energy stemming out of the live recording. A sludge interior with jaw dropping progressive lines coming at you with those cutting edge, aggressive guitars and space infused synths building an endless psychedelic brick wall and the fire starter bass line setting the mind blowing heavy tone! Get ready ‘cause a storm is coming! - Sound Injections

Casual Strangers are something of an enigma – continually toying with music genres of varying nature, one never knows quite what to expect from this experimental tour de force. Rather than scripting out the precise why’s and how’s, the band lets loose their creative energy to present a raw and independent performance. Throughout their set, Casual Strangers moved from extended psychedelic solos to avant garde spoken word, interwoven with shoegaze reverb. Waclawsky and Gunn’s expressive and relentlessly engaging stage presence coupled with their subtle interactions and male/female vocals compelled the audience to be present with them. Mitchell’s bombastic drumming served as the steady backhand beat to their songs, and synth-player Davidson looked caught in a wonderfully surreal and dream-like trance. Casual Strangers will be playing Denver’s Underground Music Showcase on Friday, July 24th. - ANON Magazine

Casual Strangers
Casual Strangers
REVIEWED BY MICHAEL TOLAND, FRI., AUG. 8, 2014
Crazy From the Heat
Casual Strangers
Launching a side gig while your day job hits a peak seems like odd timing. And yet, that's what Boxing Lesson singer/guitarist Paul Waclawsky does with Casual Strangers, a quartet co-led by singer Katey Gunn, whose self-titled debut follows hot on the heels of the Lesson's triumphant Big Hits. At first blush, the sidestep seems casual indeed: Acid-dream opener "Tune Your Brain" and muscular cosmic trip "Space Blues" would fit nicely on the primary band's LPs. Things quickly take an eccentric turn when Gunn goes spoken word on the shimmering "Casual Strangers (We Used to Be Friends)" to castigate a former lover, and Waclawsky does his best Barry White imitation on the rocking "Looking Good" alongside Gunn's coo. Bracing lead guitar passes the baton to hair-raising giggles on "Banshee," while drummer Jake Mitchell's trip-hop beats undulate through the pretty "Caribbean Cask." By the time that Floydian cocked eyebrow "Don't Worry About a Thing" arrives and the garage innuendo of "Put Your Mussy On My Mussy" pounds, the foursome inhabits another universe entirely. Twisting expectations with shameless imagination, Casual Strangers bounces gleefully between the brain, the gonads, and the funny bone.
***.5 - Austin Chronicle

Thursday April 16, The Belmont (305 West 6th):
"Casual Strangers may be the best local band on the scene right now. A perfect amalgam of psychedelic rhythms and spaced-out post-rock, they create a sonic soundscape that’s engaging and beautiful. Their eponymous debut was one of my favorite local albums last year, and they just keep getting better." - The Horn

Though hailing from a state with more than enough of its own mythical deserts, the Austen, Texas psychedelic rock and pop band the Casual Strangers have chosen to absorb the mystical transcendental climes of the Outback on their latest single.

An extemporize performance that amorphously blossomed from experimental sessions, ‘Kangarang’ is a misspent night connecting to the cosmos and Earth mother on liberal helpings of peyote in the Australian wilds; a cosmic trip of synth modulations, backward guitars and esoteric country psych twangs that will act as a comforter to those waiting for the follow-up album to their 2014 self-titled debut – currently being crated as we speak. - Monolith Cocktail UK

Top 10 Austin (Coed)
1) All ATX British Invasion
2) Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, Our Year (Premium)
3) Carrie Elkin & Danny Schmidt, For Keeps (Red House)
4) The Black Angels, Clear Lake Forest (Blue Horizon)
5) The Mastersons, Good Luck Charm (New West)
6) Rosie & the Ramblers, Whatever You Need
7) Megafauna, Maximalist (Danimal Kingdom)
8) The Ugly Beats, Brand New Day (Get Hip)
9) The Sour Notes, Do What May (No Play)
10) Casual Strangers, Casual Strangers - Austin Chronicle

Casual Strangers were an unexpected and absolute delight to watch onstage. The band held their audience’s anticipation with their spoken-word-gone-rock track, “Casual Strangers (We Used to be Friends)”, with Katey Gunn’s cooing vocals retelling the uncanny experience of bumping into an old friend, yet having no recollection of where they last met. Their immaculate transition into honest storytelling to a dynamic and powerful finish set the tone for the rest of their performance, surprising the audience with their flawless renditions of mixed genres ranging from avant-garde to psych-rock to shoegaze, leaving their fans on their feet eagerly awaiting more. The band ended their set with “Casual Strangers (See You Around)”, coming full circle and letting it be known that this won’t be the last we see them in their element. - The Austin Live Review

More Than Casual Strangers
Jake Mitchell
Jake Mitchell
PHOTO BY TODD V. WOLFSON
Having someone in your band who grows weed isn't as great as it sounds. Jake Mitchell kept time for the Boxing Lesson 2003-08, then served 45 months at a federal facility in Louisiana and six more in a halfway house after being convicted of manufacturing marijuana and conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. While in lockup, he built a hand drum using material from the camp's welding shop – lawnmower starter cable for tensioners – and played it once a week.
"I pined for the Boxing Lesson," admits Mitchell. "It was painful to have someone else in my seat while I was away. When I got out and saw them play, it was bittersweet. I was happy for my friends, but I knew it should've been me."
Around that time, 2013, Boxing Lesson founder Paul Waclawsky began writing music with longtime girlfriend Katey Gunn, who'd never been in a band. The couple's experimental rock echoed their record collection: the male/female interplay of Franco-freaks Gong and Krautrockers Amon Düül II, the tripped-out instrumentalism of Guru Guru, the spoken passages of Wire. The hallmark, for what would be known as Casual Strangers, became Gunn's equally charming and outlandish vocals.
"Katey is very forward-thinking about music," lauds Chris "Frenchie" Smith, who produced Casual Strangers' 10-song debut, out on Tuesday. "Instead of growing up onstage like everyone else, she's been in the corner taking notes. In the studio, she was so confident I just got out of the way and she nailed it."
For chemistry, not consolation, Mitchell was enlisted as percussionist, a position he's attacked creatively with live drums, loops, and samples. His lifelong pal, and Boxing Lesson's synth nucleus Jaylinn Davidson, signed on last, completing the close-knit lineup.
"Casual Strangers is everything I've ever wanted," glows Mitchell. "I'm playing with my best friends, and we're all bringing ideas to the table."
"There's so many connections of friendship and love behind this band," agrees Waclawsky. "It was like everyone's journeys came together at one time."
Casual Strangers unleash their fourth dimensional debut Friday at Mohawk with Chasca and Löwin. - Austin Chronicle

From the Cramps to Sonic Youth and hundreds in between, bands led by romantic couplings have proven that with music and relationships, everything comes down to chemistry. For Valentine's Day, three of our favorite local acts touched on the various aspects of making music with the one you love.
Casual Strangers
(Dream-rock weirdos Paul Waclawsky & Katey Gunn)
What came first, relationship or band? Relationship. You could say we've been busy developing material.
Length of partnership? Dating four years, bandmates for six months.
Your song? "You Got It," Roy Orbison
Favorite music quality of your partner? Katey: Paul's sexy shredding solos, duh! Paul: Katey's sultry voice and inspiring spirit. - Austin Chronicle

MUSIC
Free Week w/ Mighty Mountain, Deer Vibes, Casual Strangers, Migrant Kids
Fri., Jan. 10
Spider House Ballroom
2906 Fruth, 512/480-9562
http://www.spiderhousecafe.com
Drummer Jake Mitchell didn’t reclaim his throne in the Boxing Lesson upon release from prison, where he did five years for growing weed. Instead, he and bandmates Paul Waclawsky and Jaylinn Davidson launched the Casual Strangers, a psychedelic quintet that recalls Austin’s anything-goes heyday with bizarre spoken interludes, confusing sexual references, and Mitchell’s looping beats. - Austin Chronicle

Drifting across the room are the smoky wisps that is Casual Strangers, with their sonic textures combining instrumentation and electronics to provide ever building layers of sound.

Casual Strangers manage to negotiate a difficult space as although there is hint of psychedelia, it doesn’t become trippy and whilst arty doesn’t become self-indulgent and the listener is left with complexities of sound that fascinate the brain and find themselves drawn in to discover more. The vocal adds a spectral dimension to the already spacey sounds.

References can be drawn from a slew of genres and rather than muddle it all into a mess Casual Strangers is able to emerge with music that has an elegant eroticism that will, with fortune, provide them with the leverage to grow a wider audience.

Just over a year old the quartet have recently released their début ten track eponymous LP – which provides just over half an hour of pleasure and well worth getting hold of and dimming the lights to enjoy. - Emerging Indie Bands

#1 CASUAL STRANGERS - CATS MEOW
Four-piece psych rockers from Austin, Texas, with dual male/female vocals. Formerly known as The Boxing Lesson, they released their self-titled debut album last month. - Little Indie Blogs UK

Casual Strangers

Casual Strangers

The art-rock four-piece out of Austin known as Casual Strangers has a Western sensibility woven into the dreampop fabric of their music. “Tune Your Brain” opens their self-titled debut album and I was instantly struck by the psychedelic meanderings that added a dynamic element to the track, elevating both the song and the listener. Casual Strangers is not afraid to get strange, mixing spoken word with rock hued with elements of New Wave, Prog, and even some 90s guitar rock. Songs like “Space Blues” and “Caribbean Cask” carry the listener to the furthest reaches of the galaxy for some spaced out jamming. A journey you definitely want to be on. I’m partial to the blues-infused “Don’t Worry About A Thing”, but “Put Your Mussy On My Mussy” definitely made my next party playlist. You can decide for yourself which style slant on Casual Strangers you prefer. Listen here. - Yab Yum

Genre: ROCK / INDIE / POP

Hailing from Austin, Texas, Casual Strangers have released their self-titled debut album. A slice of indie-rock with a strong psychedelic edge, Casual Strangers sees the four-piece outfit bring a beautiful texture to their music with swirling guitar riffs, synth lines and lazy drum lines creating a real texture across which Katey Gunn and Paul Waclawsky can lay their sung and, at times, spoken word lyricism.

With a feel that recalls the vintage sounds of names like The Pixies, Casual Strangers certainly impress with the depth of their musicianship and song-writing, while managing to create some superb psychedelic slacker rock. The album sees Casual Strangers delve into varying levels power, as tracks like ‘Space Blues’ use a stronger lead guitar line to offer a firmer, 60s-style psychedelic rock edge amongst the ethereal keys. By contrast, the next track, the instrumental ‘Caribbean Cask,’ has a dream-like quality that washes over like a cool breeze on a warm day.

The album was recorded live to tape in just four days, which brings a coherency to the tracks, and a real warmth to the sound which is rarely heard today. This all adds to the new-vintage sound of the album, as the very feel recalls classic indie rock highlights from the 80s through the ‘90s, even as it manages to remain immediate and modern.

While Jake Mitchell, Jaylinn Davidson, Paul Waclawsky, and Katey Gunn use drums, samples, synths, bass, guitar and even lapsteel and a triwave to good effect, the vocals also impress throughout. Using a relaxed, poetic style, Casual Strangers are not afraid to let the lyrics glide in and out of a song, becoming a part of the whole feel, rather than over-riding the backing. The poetic nature of the lyrics is clear throughout as, for example, the (first) title track, ‘Casual Strangers (We Used To be Friends)’ hints at a personal experience as it talks of former friends, now drifted apart, meeting up once more by coincidence. That said, Casual Strangers also know how to let their hair down, such as the raucous and wryly sexual, ‘Put Your Mussy On My Mussy,’ and the fast finale of ‘Casual Strangers (See You Around).’

With the music set perfectly against the vocals, Casual Strangers succeed in using a number of moods to accent this 10-track release as it builds in intensity. Impressing from beginning to end with a quality that belies the fact that this is their debut full-length album, Casual Strangers have certainly pulled something special out of the hat with this release.

Sure to please fans of psychedelic and indie-rock, this album is a true unexpected highlight of 2014. Here’s to much more to come from this talented outfit. - Popculturez

Casual Strangers is a new Austin based, four-piece art rock band. Their sound is a smooth combination of ‘American guitar rock of the 90′s, British dream rock of the 80′s, and acid-tinged Krautock of the 70′s.’ The sound encompasses the ‘Slacker’ attitude of Austin. Their music is meant to free your mind, their influences include The Velvet Underground and Nico, Pixies Jefferson Airplane, and Jimi Hendrix. These bright up and comers are a must see. You can check them out at their album release party with The Sour Notes at the Mohawk July 18th, and you can listen to them play live here in Studio 1A.
-Olivia Benton - KUTX

Casual Strangers, a band out of Austin, Texas, formed in the last year and already they’re releasing their first album. The band is comprised of two women, Jaylinn(synths/keyboards) and Katey(lead singer, lapsteel guitar, triwave) and two men, Paul(guitarist, vocalist) and Jake(drummer). Their sound is psychedelic and retro, yet they manage to keep it current. The band’s couple, Paul and Katey have a vocal combo that could remind you of Jefferson Airplane but there’s something more there.
The gals, Katey and Jaylinn were kind enough to do an interview with Women in Rock. Here’s what they have to say about their band!
IK: With four people, who writes the songs? Is it a collaborative effort?
Katey of Casual Strangers
Katey of Casual Strangers
Katey: Our songs come from moments of inspiration, and we try to capture that instant in a song. Sometimes it comes while we are making dinner in the kitchen, or unexpectedly running into an old friend. All of our songs are built on moments, and then we get together and work it out as a full band. Paul always wrangles us in and gets the arrangement right for the songs. But it’s a very supportive environment, so we try to honor everyone’s ideas.
IK: Who are your musical influences?Who’s your favorite female musician?
Katey: Major influences are a lot of the late 60s early 70s psych bands that have both males and females in the band, like Jefferson Airplane, Gong, and Amon Duul II. There is a real power in harnessing the male and female energy as one entity. Meshing the two is super psychedelic. It’s hard to pick one favorite female musician, I’d say at the moment it’s Heart. Ann Wilson is such a rock star. Her voice and power is inspiring.
Jaylinn: I always love listening to kraut and psych rock. Richard Wright (Pink Floyd), Rick Wakeman (YES), and Herbie Hancock are 3 of my favorite keyboardists. My dream is to one day have Brian Eno tell me I’m awesome. I am a huge fan of Hawkwind and Tim Blake. I guess as far as the ladies go, I would have to say that Dolly Parton is still my favorite lady. And my mom who was just inducted into the Women of the Honky Tonk Hall of Fame in North Texas.
IK: What influences your psychedelic style?
Katey: My Mom has influenced my psychedelic style more than anyone else. She was a part of the hippie-era, counter-culture movement. She protested Vietnam in D.C, was at Woodstock, and then lived in Boulder. I still wear a lot of her vintage clothes! She raised us with the music of that time, so it’s kind of just who we are. She still won’t let me have any of her good records, though!
Jaylinn: It seems like culturally we are in an “anything goes” period fashion-wise which is perfect
Jaylinn of Casual Strangers
Jaylinn of Casual Strangers
for me. I have always been eclectic in my wardrobe and music choices, and being in a band gives me an opportunity to dress up and wear things that I might not sport going to the grocery store. Or maybe I might… I think it’s mostly influenced by my freedom to dress myself choose my own outfits from a very young age.
IK: What’s your favorite thing about the music scene in Austin?
Katey: The best thing about Austin, and its music scene, is that there are all these adults being creative, pursuing their dreams,and expressing themselves. It’s those people who make Austin such a dreamy place to live.
You can listen to their debut album, Casual Strangers here. Be sure to check out my two favorite songs, “Space Blues” and “Banshee.” - Women In Rock

Casual Strangers, a quartet from from Austin, TX, keep the freak flag high on their self-titled debut album. The core of The Boxing Lesson (Paul Waclawsky and Jaylinn Davidson) teamed up with lapsteel ace/singer Katey Gunn and drummer/laptop wiz Jake Mitchell. They set up shop at the Bubble with producer Chris Frenchie Smith and recorded it on tape in only four days.

Their lyrics deal about sex, outer space and animals (not necessarily in that order) and they take their musical cues form the Jefferson Airplane, Nineties slacker rock, Alice Cooper, The Cramps and even The Bloodhound Gang (the intro of Looking Good sounds a lot like The Bad Touch).

Casual Strangers is a band on a mission to update vintage psychedelic rock. They are being respectful to their peers, but by adding a dash of current electronics and carefully selected samples they have come up with one of the best modern days retro albums to date. - Here Comes the Flood

Casual Strangers

S/R

On their stunning self-titled psychedelic EP, the Casual Strangers are atmospheric and hypnotic. “Tune Your Brain” sets the mood—airy, haunting, and intensely beautiful. As their harmonies tell us to “disengage” and “just let go,” you may instead find yourself hanging on every note, unable to free yourself from the spell their synchronized sound casts. There’s no doubt this is a strange record, but if you can relish in its strangeness, you’ll find yourself wanting more and more of these four Austinites and their artful instrumentals. Each song feels uniquely crafted to suit a certain musical mood, whether an acid trance (“Banshee” and “Looking Good”) or a sun-drenched surf vibe (“Caribbean Cask” and “Don’t Worry About a Thing”). While the first half of the record finds them spaced out, the second half brings them back down to earth, and you’ll gladly want to take the journey with them. - The Horn - Austin, TX

Interview: Casual Strangers

A stage of reform in music is always risky business, be it with a new outfit or a continuation of the same. This year has been rife with such a thing, from American Football all the way to Braid and Sunny Day Real Estate. Thankfully, these guy’s haven’t been the only success stories over the last year or so, as the former members of The Boxing Lesson gave birth to Casual Strangers, with the inclusion of Katey Gunn on vocals, lapsteel and triwave. What emerged was an ambitious and diverse brand of psychedelic-rock, as expressed most fully on their self-titled debut full-length. From the intense insecurities of ‘’Banshee’’ to the sunny escapism of ‘’Caribbean Cask,’’ no venture was too far nor convention ever perceived as an issue. As the band gear up for the promotion of Casual Strangers, read below for their answers on the new album, the working of the female/male dynamics, and the induction of Jaylinn’s mum into the Women of the Honky Tonk Hall of Fame in North Texas.



Firstly, congratulations on the debut record. Could you start off by telling us a bit about the inception and writing for the album?

We’ve been a band for about a year now, so this all came together pretty quickly. Paul and Katey had started writing songs together, mostly for personal entertainment. At the same time, Jake was released from prison and wanted to reconnect musically with his best friends. We started having these loose jam sessions and before we knew it we’d created this totally off-the-wall, psychedelic album. We found a new freedom in writing songs outside of our comfort zone, with weird sounds and lyrics, because it’s fun and unexplored territory for us and for modern rock music.

Casual Strangers Album CoverWhat were the inspirations for Casual Strangers and your music as a whole?

Inspiration for us is musical discovery, going to a record store, and picking up a record purely on vibe. That feeling of excitement is in each of the songs on the record, that’s kind of why it feels like a badass playlist. That feeling of “What’s going to come next?” really makes you listen.

More importantly, what would you hope to inspire in potential audiences?

We hope to inspire a sense of freedom from the norm. Let your freak flag fly, as they say. Hopefully it gives people some confidence to be true to themselves, and to lighten up and have some fun.

Where does the name Casual Strangers come from?

Casual Strangers comes from the collective consciousness. To be fair, it was Jake’s idea. But we all agree that we live in a time where you know more information about people, but you don’t really know many of them any better than a stranger walking down the street.

In a letter sent to the site Republic of Austin last year, it stated how the album was to be ‘conceptualized.’ What are the concepts running through the record?

The main concept running through the album is alienation and the flip side to that, the moments where you feel a kinship or connection to someone, no matter how brief or confusing. That notion along with themes of psychedelia, sex, space, and rebirth make the whole thing feel like a dream within a dream.

Casual StrangersOne of the most effective and intriguing elements of the record is the female/male vocal dynamics. How do you feel the gender combination works within the band as a whole?

The male/female dynamic balances everything. The yin and yang in the lyrics, music, and band chemistry. Rock music is so heavily male influenced and that’s probably why it’s not the most popular music anymore. As much fun as it is to totally rock out, there is a power in harnessing that along with female energy. The combination creates a complete story for us.

The paradox between the expansive nature of ‘’Space Blues’’ and say the more straight-up ‘’Put Your Mussy On My Mussy’’ really adds interesting dynamics to the record. Do you ever feel pressured to go for something more complicated, or is there an intention to try and write a diverse range of tracks?

The reason it is so diverse is because we tried to not put any pressure or limitations on our ideas. When you free yourself from what a song is “supposed” to be, you start experiencing songwriting as more of a zen thing. The song is allowed to have an identity outside of the ego of the songwriter. One thing leads to another, and it just is.

I read that Jaylinn’s (synth, bass) mom has recently been inducted into the Women of the Honky Tonk Hall of Fame in North Texas. What is this Hall of Fame and why was she inducted?

Jaylinn spent many hours as a kid in honky tonks in Wichita Falls, TX watching her mother perform, playing to crowds of dancing cowboys and ladies. She was a staple in Wichita Falls, owned her own night club, booked, and played with many famous musicians namely Jerry Lee Louis. She sang and played bass with a few different incarnations, namely Connie Kelley and the Cavaliers, which was an all-girl band. She even sewed all their outfits. Last year, the Museum of North Texas History had an exhibit of the Golden Age of Honky Tonk and in it the Women of the Honky Tonk Hall of Fame, where Jaylinn’s mother was an honoree.

casual strangers bandWhat was the reason behind starting Casual Strangers and not just continuing as The Boxing Lesson?

Casual Strangers is a new band with a new creative energy. It’s directly in line with our current musical tastes and is the fresh start that we all needed in our lives.

What’s the story behind the names of Moonchild, P. Virgin, Ascot Jones the Third, and Kalijah?

This goes back to the idea of freeing yourself from preconceived notions and of course having fun with your true identity! We love to see pseudonyms on albums and we were talking one day right before we came out as a band about how it doesn’t matter WHO is playing as much as WHAT is played.

Some of the lyrics, especially on the aforementioned ‘’Put Your Mussy On My Mussy,’’ flag up as being both suggestive and amusingly inventive. Is there an agenda to compose this way or is it indicative of the way you feel when writing the music?

It’s indicative of the way we live our lives. These song ideas really are little vignettes captured from day to day experiences, outside of being a musician. We don’t get together and slave over song ideas. It’s a combination of a spark of an idea and the creative energy of the band culminating with an identity of the song. If you’ve seen Slacker or any other Richard Linklater films, he threads a story through seemingly unrelated people and events, and that’s what we do too.

What are three things people may be surprised to know about Casual Strangers?

1) We practice in Paul and Katey’s kitchen.

2) We recorded our entire album, live to tape, in only 4 days.

3) A dog will lick his own butt, but will not eat a pickle.

Finally, what can people expect from the band over the next few months?

We are writing our sophomore Casual Strangers album right now and are planning to record it by the end of the year. Also we are talking about bringing the band out of Texas for the first time to cities like NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London. - Bearded Gentlemen

Casual Strangers
Casual Strangers
Label: Self-released
Release date: 2014-07-22
Rating: 8 out of 10

Casual Strangers hail from Austin, TX, which is apparently a pretty cool place with an emerging scene. I really don’t know anything more than that about the place, but Casual Strangers make is sound dusty, rugged and sexy – all good elements with which to infuse ones music. So I want to go to Austin now.

First track ‘Tune Your Brain’ isn’t as trippy as that title makes it sound, although it does feature a flange-tastic, Pink Floydian guitar solo. Instead, it sounds like Mazzy Star if they rocked a little harder, or The Wedding Present if they rocked a lot slower, or, given the band’s mix of man/woman vocals, lo-fi electronics and dry riffs, The Kills if they were less slappable.

Second track and (I’m guessing) theme song to their notional TV show, ‘Casual Strangers (We Used to be Friends)’ is based around a valley girl spoken-word bit about bumping into a former acquaintance. It’s like part II of The Teenagers’ ‘Homecoming’; everything’s stilted, awkward, sad but also a little funny. The grown-up Teenagers vibe continues on ‘Looking Good’, which features 80s-style white-funk bass and synths submerged under gritty, hard-rock guitar.

Having skirted around it a bit, Casual Strangers get properly psych-rock on the appropriately titled ‘Space Blues’, which is both very spacey and quite bluesy, and it also very good indeed, it sounds like unwitting Krautrock super-group Cosmic Jokers jamming with Jack White, which means it’s basically awesome. The following ‘Caribbean Cask’ is completely different but also excellent, an electro-Hawaiian instrumental full of lovely, ‘Albatross’-style guitar.

Such variety is an unexpected treat, and makes one realise how many bands today are sadly either unwilling or unable to diversify their sound with such fluidity. It doesn’t all quite work, of course, but even when it doesn’t, it’s at least interesting. Witness ‘Don’t Worry About a Thing’, which sounds like Eric Clapton masturbating over a David Lynch demo while Nicholas Cage does an impression of Vincent Price over the top. Yes, that’s actually what it sounds like, and after listening to it a few times I quite like it.

Then there’s ‘Cats Meow’, which sort of sounds like a more shoegazey, gothy Breeders collaborating with a particularly lachrymose John Cale, and seems to take its lyrical cue from Gong’s slightly suspect ‘Witch's Song/I Am Your Pussy’, and the wonderfully if perplexingly titled ‘Put Your Mussy on My Mussy’, which is just straight-ahead pop-punk with gonzo riffs and almost audible pogoing.

The album wraps up with the brief ‘Casual Strangers (See You Around)’, which surprises just by being good, old-fashioned alt-rock which tugs at the heartstrings in a minor way while riffing away competently. It leaves one with the impression that Casual Strangers might not be totally sure what kind of band they are yet, but they’re certainly full of ideas, combining an impressive, sometimes bewildering glut of influences – Americana, punk, post-rock, blues-rock, The B-52s, psychedelia, 80s pop – into something which, for the most part, hangs together astonishingly well, skipping merrily between what’s cool and what’s not, what’s mainstream and leftfield.

Fuck knows what Casual Strangers will sound like on their next album, but it’ll be well worth checking it out. - Soundblab.com

Pink Panther
Casual Strangers
Label:
Release date: 2016-01-26

Having released an excellent debut album back in 2014 that meandered merrily from alt-country to blues-rock to space-rock, taking in 80s synth-funk and straight-ahead punk-pop on the way, Austin’s Casual Strangers appear to have honed their sound in a more cohesive direction for album number two. Pink Panther is a collection of instrumentals which lean towards the cosmic, a tendency which becomes more pronounced as the album progresses.

Despite their trippy names, the opening brace of tracks, ‘Holocene Dream’ and ‘Cosmic Spaghetti’, are actually two of the less out-there numbers here. The former is churning, burning post-rock streaked with lovely, echo-heavy guitar, while the latter is a slow, contemplative piece with lyrical guitar which wouldn’t have been out of place of Pink Floyd’s The Endless River.

The following ‘Kangarang’ picks up the pace with some wig-out backwards guitar over aggressive, pounding drums. Synths swirl as the album’s overarching space-rock motif begins to make itself felt, and before long the track has dissolved into soupy ambience.

As the album continues, the influence of various Krautrock bands becomes more apparent. ‘Brinca! Brinca!’ recalls Harmonia and Cluster with squelching, witty synths, while one of the standout tracks, the drifting ‘Cosmic Jokers’, makes its inspiration plain in its title. Elsewhere, the gorgeous ‘Turing Test’ combines the bleeps of Sputnik-era pioneering electronic sound with John Carpenter-style uneasy synth-work.

As Pink Panther becomes more cosmic and esoteric, so the material gets stronger and the band’s virtuosity and creative energy comes through. Apparently, these tracks were constructed via improvisation, with band members adding their contributions using unusual equipment.

The last four tracks are all outstanding. The title track winningly combines a cheesy beat with icy, squalling synth and some spine-tinglingly good blues-flecked guitar. ‘Lost Coast’ sources early Brian Eno for a mournful, gentle waltz as effects-laden guitar spirals off into infinity.

Penultimate number ‘Future Passed’ is tense and moody, its noir sheen recalling Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack. This segues nicely into ‘Little Lids’, 10-plus minutes of experimental ambience on which the pitch shifts endlessly like quicksand, like old reel-to-reel tape gradually unspooling into obsolescence.

It’s incredibly brave for a band still establishing themselves to make a statement such as this on only their second album. The fact that Casual Strangers have pulled it off effortlessly, creating something which stands on its own as more than the sum of its influences, is testament to what a fantastic bunch of musicians they are. Whatever they do next will probably sound completely different again, and I can’t wait to hear whatever that is. - Soundblab UK

Austin, Texas shoegaze flouncers Casual Strangers have decided to mark the auspicious occasion of the group’s band members Katey and Paul Gunn-Waclwasky’s marriage by recording their very own Wedding Album. Riffing on John & Yoko’s infamous nuptials experiment of the same name but far less indulgent, and replacing the fluctuating bewails of Lennon’s muse with Katey’s more subdued and ethereal tones, the couple create a misty vaporous and often dreamy songbook of paeans and mood pieces.

The shoegaze peregrination signatures remain with echoes of My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized throughout. Yet with a romantic twinkle in their eyes, the group ape John & Yoko’s kooky Japanese pop serenades – as performed by The Flaming Lips – on the lovers lullaby ‘Baby’s Happy’, and recall the late Alan Vega on the crystal-powered cosmic ‘Eyes For You’. Despite the arpeggiator cascades of love vibe the Wedding Album features its fair share of languid, muffled mystery and sense of otherworldliness. Stranger Things 80s soundtracks sit alongside odd metallic and cartoon voiced breakdowns and the ebbing tides of a topographic ocean.

Chronicling the build-up and courtship leading up to the big day, so to speak, this loosely concatenate soundtrack may indeed be a romantic gesture for posterity but it also marks the group’s most experimental album yet. - Monolith Cocktail