Overview
Improvement Movement
Improvement Movement, the social betterment campaign/prog-rock quartet/non-denominational cult from Atlanta, GA, return with their new album, *Your Perfect Real Life*, arriving August 21, 2026 via ATO Records. Prismatic, angular, and eccentric, the record embraces life's relentless unpredictability, balancing unadulterated bliss with realist catharsis.
Animated by the band's baroque take on angular grunge harmonies, the album's eleven tracks are enlivened by four-part vocal harmonies, sticky melodies, and a treasure trove of experimental instruments. Fans of Fleet Foxes, early Genesis, and Art Garfunkel will find plenty to love.
Comprised of Tony Aparo, Clark Hamilton, Marshall Ruffin, and Zach Pyles, Improvement Movement emerged from Atlanta's thriving DIY scene before spending the last two years relentlessly touring with Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Iron & Wine, Houndmouth, and Khruangbin. That time on the road shaped their most dynamic and high-energy record to date, while reflecting on timely themes of mundanity, fear, acceptance, and finding connection through community.
With millions of views on their live sessions and growing critical acclaim, Improvement Movement continues to bridge life's brutal realities with the catharsis of making music together. As the band puts it: "Every home should have a piano in it and everyone should be singing."
The Point.
Despite their influences ranging across the world, The Point. are a band that could only have started in Austin. Fusing psychedelia, Saharan guitar music, and cumbia with jam-band sensibilities, the trio creates a laid-back vibe that’s more than the sum of its parts. Their latest, Maldito Animal (Deluxe Edition), finds the band exploring new directions, the aural equivalent of a crate-digger showing off their collection, a panoply of taste culled into one source.
In 2017, guitarist Jack Montesinos and organist Joe Roddy met in junior high, bonding over their love of Hammond B-3 jazz and Freddie King’s Texas blues. Already seasoned performers at that ripe age, both teenagers found their footing in Austin nightclubs long before they could drink beer themselves. Joe Roddy learned the Blues from his father Ted, who fronts the long-running Teddy and the Tall Tops & The Naughty Ones, in addition to recording harmonica sessions with local legends. Montesinos also learned the blues under the wing of his father: at ten years old, he played at Historic Victory Grill's blues nights, holding his own against older generations of Texas greats. “My dad would have to carry my amp,” he told the Austin Chronicle in 2023.
And yet, when Montesinos and Roddy first met, their first project went a wildly different direction, making beats for local rappers and learning the in’s-and-out’s of GarageBand production. But, spurred by the isolation of COVID-19, the duo picked up their instruments again, itching to play live shows. Their first release, Phonkadelic, captures their sound at this quarantine crossroads: samples and drum machines nestled next to chorus-heavy guitar. Over the next couple years, coming out of the pandemic, the duo found drummer Nico Léophonte, rounding out the trio and jumping head-first into garage rock. Decades older than his musical companions, Léophonte moved to Austin from Toulouse, France in 1997. Léophonte produced The Point.’s first record.
With Maldito Animal, originally released in May 2024, The Point. set their sights further, combining their years of experience with new studio tricks. “Mrs. Kind Eyes,” the third single from the record, twists and turns its way through their musical journey. The track starts off with the reverb-washed drums of Jamaican dub, followed by the hum of Roddy’s organ. Roddy’s gravely-yet-relaxed voice kicks in as the guitar settles into the groove. About halfway into the track, the band takes a solo break, the call-and-response of jazz coming in at full force. While Montesinos’ guitar evokes the immediacy of Ethiopian jazz or Texas blues, Roddy’s swirling organ lines take cues from NRBQ or Booker T. Washington. Only in their mid-twenties, Montesinos and Roddy have lived many musical lives. Delving into the worlds of rap and soul, jazz and bedroom pop, the trio comes out the other end with a sound all of their own, but a sound that’s grounded in the many corners of Austin’s thriving music scene.
This summer, The Point. find themselves in an extensive touring schedule, bringing their abrupt, energetic fervor to stages across the country. They just finished a tour of Europe and return to the States supporting Uncle Lucius on a Colorado tour. They’re also performing at multiple festivals including Floyd Fest in Floyd, VA; Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, NC; and Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, TX. On September 26th, via Spaceflight Records & Keeled Scales, they’ll release Maldito Animal (Deluxe Edition), adding two bonus tracks to the full-length record.
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