The Bright Light Social Hour

Texas combo the Bright Light Social Hour forged a fresh strain of psychedelia by blending hard rock, R&B, electronica, and pop, stepping forward in the late 2000s to both honor and refresh the longstanding Lone Star tradition of expansive sonic exploration. After several independent releases, their self-titled 2010 debut album established them as local favorites in Austin, and extensive road work soon expanded their reach nationwide. The widely praised 2015 successor, Space Is Still the Place, reached larger audiences through prominent placements in major television programs, paving the way for the 2018 Jim Eno-produced Missing Something EP on Modern Outsider.

Founding members Jack O’Brien on keyboards and vocals and Curtis Roush on guitar first assembled the Bright Light Social Hour in 2004 while attending Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, roughly an hour from Austin. Initially embedded in a college art-rock collective, the pair joined forces with drummer Thomas Choate and bassist Ryan O’Donoghue, performing alongside regional punk and alternative acts. Choate departed for academic reasons in 2006, prompting the addition of Joseph Mirasole, whose drumming experience originated in a drum corps. The group captured its first EP, Touches, in 2007; after Ryan O’Donoghue exited, O’Brien shifted to bass, and new keyboardist A.J. Vincent came aboard, leading to the 2008 release of the Love Like Montopolis EP. As their sound grew more wide-ranging and ambitious, they prepared a full-length album, and the self-titled debut issued by Maple Music Recordings in 2010 created a stir in Austin, securing six honors at the 2011 SXSW Austin Music Awards, among them Album of the Year, Song of the Year for “Detroit,” and Band of the Year. Capitalizing on their local breakthrough, the band embarked on extensive touring across hundreds of dates in subsequent years, including sets at Lollapalooza and the Austin City Limits Music Festival. In 2013 they issued the single “Wendy Davis” to salute the Texas senator whose pro-choice filibuster drew national attention that June; Mirasole, O’Brien, and Roush attended the protest and assembled a video from smartphone footage they captured. The track also marked the recording debut of new keyboardist Edward Braillif, who had replaced A.J. Vincent several months prior.

March 2015 brought the release of the eagerly awaited second album, Space Is Still the Place, through Frenchkiss Records; the band attributed the material to their conception of a “Future South,” shaped by extended reflections on America’s economic downturn during travels. Tracks from the album gained broader visibility via placements in series such as Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, HBO’s Vice Principals, and the Terrence Malick film Song to Song. Following the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, France, the Bright Light Social Hour recorded their Lincoln Hall performance in Chicago and released it as a live album, directing all proceeds to the French Red Cross. Collaborating with fellow Texan Israel Nash, they delivered the Neighbors EP in late 2016. In January 2017 they composed the theme “Harder Out There” for the Amazon Video series Sneaky Pete. The band returned in 2018 with the five-song EP Missing Something, produced by Spoon’s Jim Eno.