Kingdom Of Suicide Lovers at Ruta Maya [Show Preview]

Ruta Maya used to be the hippy-iest of hippy coffee shops, reveling in its far South Austin zipcode by booking a bunch of reggae acts on a regular basis. Lately, it’s upped its venue cred by jumping onto the Casual Victim Pile dogpile, creating a real DIY space to go along with its couches, art displays, and comfortably caffeinated clientele. They’ll get an earful with tonight’s bill, headlined by local stalwarts Kingdom of Suicide Lovers.

With grab-bag of snotty garage rock that populated last year’s Pile, Kingdom offered a nice mid-album respite. Their sound is built around the twin harmonies of Paul Streckfus and Kelsey Wickliffe, two Austin music veterans who have done time in Glorium and Faceless Werewolves respectively. Whereas those other Red River bands were in and out in two-and-a-half minutes, Kingdom’s Pile contribution, “Hoboken Snow,” builds out of ringing distortion into a psychedelic travelogue. The two singers trade lyrics like old friends, and their voices are perfectly matched: Streckfus’s nervous warble and Wickliffe’s laconic croon. There are traces of Sonic Youth and even Dylan in the swirling musical storms they like to cook up, and they’re playing tonight in support of a brand-new 7-inch that finds the band trying on some enticing new sounds for size.

Kingdom might have you looking at your shoes, but No Mas Bodas will have you scratching your head. The local female quartet has a skewed take on pop music, infusing it with electronic beats, stuttering vocals, and spooky string sections. This year’s Flesh EP is perfectly weird but with some impressive vocal hooks. And if those snotty garage songs are your thing, be sure to arrive early at Ruta Maya to take in the irresistibly catchy punk of the Tempo Tantrums.

Kingdom of Suicide Lovers: [facebook] [bandcamp]
No Mas Bodas: [facebook] [bandcamp]
Tempo Tantrums: [myspace]