Biography
Austin, Texas outfit Pure X craft a hazy strain of noise pop defined by sluggish tempos, billowing layers of overdriven guitars, and straightforward yet insistent drum patterns. Across multiple LPs and more than ten years of activity, the group refined its approach, moving from early atmospheric pieces to the more grounded yet still blurred songcraft of its fourth, self-titled LP issued in 2020.
The musicians first crossed paths as students at college in San Marcos, Texas, just outside Austin. Bassist Jesse Jenkins and drummer Austin Youngblood had already played together in Silver Pines, while guitarist and vocalist Nate Grace had shared a short-lived group with Jenkins and issued several solo cassette projects. After a stretch of travel, Grace made his home in Austin during 2009 and asked Jenkins and Youngblood to rehearse informally. Those sessions coalesced into a band first called Pure Ecstasy, but after discovering a California show band using the identical name, the Texans adopted Pure X instead. As Grace explained to journalist Amber Bravo, “I like Pure X. Pure ‘blank’ is how I like to think of it.” Linking up with kindred acts on Austin’s Light Lodge Records roster, the group issued a run of 7-inch singles and cassettes captured live to tape with no overdubs and scant editing. Positive notices for those early recordings and performances drew the interest of Acephale Records, which put out the band’s debut full-length, Pleasure, in summer 2011.
Pure X followed with Crawling Up the Stairs in 2013, an album less shrouded in murk yet more emotionally bleak, partly shaped by a severe leg injury Grace sustained ahead of the sessions. Touring guitarist Matty Tommy Davidson became a permanent member after the record’s release, expanding the lineup to a quartet that shifted toward brighter, dreamier textures on its third album, Angel, which appeared in spring 2014. In the wake of that release, several members departed Austin or turned attention elsewhere, ushering in a stretch of relative inactivity. The band resurfaced in 2020 with its self-titled fourth album, featuring leaner arrangements and cleaner production values.
The musicians first crossed paths as students at college in San Marcos, Texas, just outside Austin. Bassist Jesse Jenkins and drummer Austin Youngblood had already played together in Silver Pines, while guitarist and vocalist Nate Grace had shared a short-lived group with Jenkins and issued several solo cassette projects. After a stretch of travel, Grace made his home in Austin during 2009 and asked Jenkins and Youngblood to rehearse informally. Those sessions coalesced into a band first called Pure Ecstasy, but after discovering a California show band using the identical name, the Texans adopted Pure X instead. As Grace explained to journalist Amber Bravo, “I like Pure X. Pure ‘blank’ is how I like to think of it.” Linking up with kindred acts on Austin’s Light Lodge Records roster, the group issued a run of 7-inch singles and cassettes captured live to tape with no overdubs and scant editing. Positive notices for those early recordings and performances drew the interest of Acephale Records, which put out the band’s debut full-length, Pleasure, in summer 2011.
Pure X followed with Crawling Up the Stairs in 2013, an album less shrouded in murk yet more emotionally bleak, partly shaped by a severe leg injury Grace sustained ahead of the sessions. Touring guitarist Matty Tommy Davidson became a permanent member after the record’s release, expanding the lineup to a quartet that shifted toward brighter, dreamier textures on its third album, Angel, which appeared in spring 2014. In the wake of that release, several members departed Austin or turned attention elsewhere, ushering in a stretch of relative inactivity. The band resurfaced in 2020 with its self-titled fourth album, featuring leaner arrangements and cleaner production values.
Albums
Rare Ecstasy 2009-2019
2020
Pure X
2020
Angel
2014
Crawling Up the Stairs
2013
Pleasure
2011
You're In It Now
2011
Singles
