Ringo Deathstarr

A torchbearer of the '90s blistering shoegaze style, Ringo Deathstarr is an Austin-based band that combines all the must-haves of the genre: hazy vocals, steady beats, and most importantly, the fuzzed up guitar on overdrive that is mixed more or less level with the bass and drums (see My Bloody Valentine). It must be said that the body of work they have produced thus far would hold its ground very well against some of the classic bands in the genre, including MBV. They have been bringing more dream pop elements into their music recently, with more swirly guitars and dreamy vocals, which creates a sense of range and serves as a good breather between fuzz blasts. Guitarist Elliott Frazier and bassist Alex Gehring share the band's vocal duties and mark the two ends of their music: Frazier steps in for the rougher, more noise-oriented tracks while Gehring takes on the more dreamy ones. Also, yeah, killer band name!