It’s March 14, 2025, simply previous midday in Austin, Texas – a minor miracle that NME is even awake. SXSW’s unwritten rule is that nobody surfaces earlier than mid-afternoon. However right here we’re, simply off the principle drag, taking refuge from the oppressive Texas warmth inside a venue known as The thirteenth Ground. Largely in search of an air-conditioned place to take a seat, NME finally ends up alongside a sound engineer and a smattering of different unintentional vacationers. We’re all wholly unprepared for what awaits us.
The trio that had been nonchalantly organising simply minutes earlier begins with a simmering incantation, the co-lead vocalists harmonising with eyes closed. Their voices intertwine – fragile and candy – earlier than the music out of the blue erupts: guitars snarling, drums tumbling ahead, bass vibrating by the floorboards. It’s loud, bodily rock music, but threaded with one thing unexpectedly tender. Beneath the hiss and suggestions is a heat that feels nearly humanising, just like the band is letting you right into a secret whilst they attempt to shake the room aside. When all of it lastly screeches to a halt half an hour later, the handful of slack-jawed strangers within the viewers trade glances that every one suggest the identical query: Did we actually simply witness that?
What we witnessed was Golomb, a three-piece from the American indie heartland of Ohio – the identical soil that gave rise to Guided by Voices and The Breeders. Simply to ensure we weren’t hallucinating in our coffee-deprived state, we catch the band once more two hours later, this time in a again alley behind the Chess Membership. Now there’s a sweaty, tightly packed crowd to substantiate it: no matter Golomb is doing, it’s no fluke. Rapturous SXSW debuts from digital unknowns are uncommon. Haim and Bully pulled it off as soon as upon a time, however moments like this are, surely, lightning in a bottle.
Seems Golomb are a uncommon breed in additional methods than one. Not solely are Mickey Shuman (vocals, guitar) and Xenia Holm Shuman (vocals, bass) married, however they managed to recruit Xenia’s youthful brother, Hawken Holm, to spherical out the lineup on drums. If that sounds difficult, that’s as a result of it’s. “You recognize that time period third wheel?” Hawken laughs, now talking on Zoom with the remainder of the band, a number of months faraway from these electrifying SXSW units. “With us, that third wheel is all the time altering. Typically Mickey and I gang up on Xenia. Different instances Mickey’s the one being bizarre.”
One way or the other, they make all of it work – possibly as a result of Xenia and Hawken perceive the dynamic higher than most. Their dad and mom performed collectively in a ’90s indie band of some regional renown known as Bigfoot. They by no means made it far exterior Ohio, however in accordance with household lore, they had been apparently cool sufficient to share a blunt with Kim Deal, the queen of Ohio indie herself. Extra importantly, per Xenia: “Having my dad and mother in a band made it appear pure to be in a band with my then-boyfriend and my brother.”
Of course, pure doesn’t imply straightforward. All three admit the inevitable depth of blending the non-public with the skilled. Since Mickey and Xenia’s relationship predated the band, studying easy methods to perform as each has been a problem. “When band apply is demanding, it’s onerous to simply depart that shit within the basement and go upstairs to mattress,” says Xenia. Mickey nods in settlement, recalling a dialog with one other couple who’d completed it in reverse – band first, relationship later. “They mentioned it was simpler as a result of they already had these communication abilities. We’re nonetheless studying them.”
The most important lesson to date got here whereas making ‘The Beat Goes On’, their terrific second album launched this previous summer season on the esteemed No Quarter label. Whereas their 2022 self-titled debut had its full working order locked in earlier than they even stepped into the studio, this time they took the “polar reverse” method. The songs had been solely loosely sketched forward of time and completed as they recorded – a deliberate try and seize the spontaneity and power of their dwell exhibits. It was additionally an illustration of belief, each within the course of and in one another. The objective, as Xenia places it, was merely to “let the report occur.”
Their instincts didn’t lead them astray. ‘The Beat Goes On’ is a dramatic leap ahead – assured and swaggering on tracks just like the opener and ‘Actual Energy’, but heat and intimate on others like ‘Be Right here Now’ (Oasis reference purely coincidental). It’s the sound of a band folding The Grateful Useless’s sprawl, Spacemen 3’s drone, Neil Younger’s soul, and King Krule’s woozy melancholy into one thing unmistakably their very own.
The timing of their evolution couldn’t be higher. Guitar-centric rock is the healthiest it’s been in years. Bands like Fontaines D.C. and Geese could also be main the cost; in the meantime, a rising wave – from Water From Your Eyes to Sharp Pins to Greg Freeman – is reshaping the panorama. ‘The Beat Goes On’ positions them nicely to affix the ranks. Golomb will tour with Freeman in January after coming back from their UK/EU dates, and it’s not their first time sharing a stage. He’s even crashed on their sofa mid-tour.
“There are such a lot of nice information being made proper now,” says Xenia. “However what’s even cooler is that, for the primary time, these are information being made by our mates.” Mickey flashes an impish grin: “That is all a part of a prophecy I’ve had for the previous few years.” He doesn’t elaborate, however it’s most likely for the very best. With Golomb, half the fun isn’t understanding what you’ll witness subsequent.
Golomb’s ‘The Beat Goes On’ is out now by way of No Quarter
