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Crate Digging is a recurring feature that takes a deep dive into music history to turn up several albums all music fans should know. In this edition, Hovvdy highlight 10 of their favorite albums by artists from their home state of Texas.
Hovvdy have been at this for a while. Since forming in Austin, Texas over a decade ago, Will Taylor and Charlie Martin have favored both quality and quantity — they’ve released five albums, two EPs, two great covers collections, and a split with Loafer, all in the last 10 years. Their latest self-titled album (a double-LP that we named as one of the best records of the year so far) is as majestic as ever, filled with passionate songwriting and fearless, dazzling production.
One key to the Hovvdy lore has always been Taylor and Martin’s home state of Texas. Throughout their catalogue, references to the Lone Star State abound, and their heartland-inspired sound is suited for a Southwestern expanse.
When chatting over Zoom about the duo’s favorite albums from Texan artists, however, Martin and Taylor are an ocean away, getting in some pre-show relaxation in a Manchester green room before beginning their UK tour. Meanwhile, the band will be opening for Beabadoobee on her forthcoming fall tour in North America (get tickets here), so there are plenty of Hovvdy shows on the way.
Martin and Taylor are happy to dig into their respective lists of some Texas highlights, and they have lots of memories attached to these albums. The list spans several eras, from the classic outlaw sound of Blaze Foley to more recent favorites like Kacey Musgraves’Deeper Well.
Read on for Hovvdy’s list of 10 albums from Texan artists that everyone should own.
Sarah Jaffe —Suburban Nature
Will Taylor: So my first pick takes us back to 2010, a high school classic for me. Sarah Jaffe’s Suburban Nature was produced by John Congleton in Dallas, where I’m from. A member of our band and a producer, Ben Littlejohn, who’s with us right now, also connected with this record. It came at a time when we started listening to softer music and exploring unique recording processes. It was pivotal for me in expanding my music taste. This record holds a special place for me, both in time and place and in getting to know John Congleton’s work — he’s gone on to produce so many special records, and this was a great time to hear a lot of acoustic guitars and great songwriting.
Essential Track: “Watch Me Fall Apart”
Explosions in the Sky —The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place
Charlie Martin: I have to take it back to high school too. I was a deep fan of post-rock, especially Texas post-rock. I think Texas kind of birthed the genre — I don’t know if that’s a crazy thing to say or not, but Explosions in the Sky is one of those quintessential post-rock bands. This album takes me right back to that place, and it predates all the football stuff associated with Friday Night Lights.
I have vivid memories of my family living out in the country. I remember my dad giving me some hi-fi headphones. I had an old Ford Explorer, and I would drive out to the darkest place, lay down on top of my car, and listen to Explosions in the Sky, getting emotional. The music has real depth and evokes big feelings. I think it’s designed for expansive spaces. The essential track from that album is “Your Hand in Mine.” It’s a short record, maybe six or seven songs, but “Your Hand in Mine” is probably my favorite.
Essential Track: “Your Hand in Mine”
Centro-Matic —Fort Recovery
Taylor: We’re going to keep it in the same era, also in the high school zone. This band is called Centro-Matic, and they’re out of Denton, Texas. The singer and songwriter for the band is named Will Johnson — he went on to play drums in Monsters of Folk and did some other cool stuff. They’re a really cool band and they played what I defined back then as Texas rock. Like Explosions in the Sky, it has an expansive feel, and you can kind of see the landscape when you hear the music. There’s a lot of emotion behind the songs, and they were a huge inspiration for the early days of our band and have continued to reappear in my life in a powerful way.
The focus track would be “In Such Crooked Time,” but you can’t really go wrong with that whole record because there are lots of bangers, including heavier rock songs. This one’s more of a laid-back ballad, but it’s from 2006 and hit me at the right time. It’s another record I shared with Ben a lot back in high school, and it holds up well.
Essential Track: “In Such Crooked Time”
Townes Van Zandt —For the Sake of the Song
Martin: All right, bringing it back to the late ’60s, maybe early ’70s. I think this might be his first proper studio album, which is just a masterpiece of a record. My selected song is “I’ll Be Here in the Morning.” It was almost my wife and I’s first dance song, but I thought it was a little bit too sad.
Townes Van Zandt, I think, could be the best singer-songwriter in Texas history. I don’t think it’d be a stretch to say that. Sometimes I blame him for my late start in songwriting because I was obsessed with him. I thought to be a songwriter, you had to be like Townes, but then I finally discovered that it was okay if you weren’t that good.
Essential Track: “I’ll Be There in the Morning”
Jerry Jeff Walker —Ridin’ High
Taylor: I’m going to take it back to the ’70s as well. This is from 1975, Jerry Jeff Walker, a Texas country artist who passed away a few years ago. He was pivotal in what I call the Outlaw Texas Country scene. He got his start in Lubbock and attended Texas Tech, which is where my dad went, so there are a lot of family ties to this one. He never achieved extreme mainstream success, but he had an incredible Texas music career, and I feel like that kind of tradition has carried on. It influenced a lot of artists today, it’s really special in that kind of Texas country scene. It’s a wonderful album that sounds loose, kind of dirty, and not overproduced in a lovely way — great for driving around a small town in Texas.
Essential Track: “Jaded Lover”
Matt Champion —Mika’s Laundry
Martin: Bringing it forward to maybe two or three months ago — Matt Champion, formerly of Brockhampton. I’ve loved Matt Champion since I heard Brockhampton, and his new stuff is really good. It’s hard for me to not pick a Brockhampton song; you know, famous boy band from San Marcos, Texas, with many members from Corpus Christi — I know Kevin [Abstract] is from Corpus. Their projects really inspired me and I found them really exciting.
But this new Matt Champion record kind of blew my mind. It’s produced by our buddy Dijon and Henry Kwapis, and it’s just a really strong pivot for him style-wise. He raps on the record, but it’s just great songwriting, and the production is absolutely unreal. I’ve been listening to it a ton. Everyone from Brockhampton is kind of spreading their wings right now.
Essential Track: “Code Red”
Solange —A Seat at the Table
Taylor: This record was really impactful on me because I listened to it so much while I was working in the service industry. We would crank it up in the kitchen, and it became a staple that year, around the time when Blonde also came out. We would alternate between Blonde andA Seat at the Tableover and over again.
Obviously, the Knowles family is from Houston, and it’s just an incredible record full of really unique song structures. I love all the interludes, and it’s just a really unique record that has stuck with me throughout the years.
Essential Track: “Junie”
MAH KEE OH —Dogfood
Martin:So we’ve got an artist called MAH KEE OH, a bit of a side project from a band called Teethe out of Denton, Texas. It’s an incredible record called Dogfood, and it has that same slowcore, heavy, beautiful, minimalist production style. The Denton music scene was really special to us coming up; we would play a lot of shows with a close-knit group of friends, including bands like Dead Sullivan and Crisman. Eventually, Teethe reformed and they’re currently on Winspear Records. It’s definitely quintessential Texas slowcore stuff, and MAH KEE OH is completely underrated — I don’t know how many people really know about them, but I want to put y’all on.
Essential Track: “Dogfood”
Kacey Musgraves — Deeper Well
Taylor: So, the last one is a very recent pick, Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves. It’s a great album and it’s a record that my three-year-old really loves, and we’ve all connected with it as a family. I’ve been a fan of Kacey for a long time, since her first song, and seeing her career path has been really interesting. She’s an inspiring artist because she does whatever she wants, making the records she wants and paving her own way. A lot of people might have wanted her to go more mainstream country, but she’s always had her own lane, which I really appreciate. Artistically, she’s inspiring, and Deeper Well is a peaceful record, her most well-written and best-sounding. There are a lot of subtly profound ideas and philosophies on the record that have stuck with me, and it’s really special because my daughter loves it so much.
Essential Track: “Giver / Taker”
Blaze Foley —Wanted More Dead Than Alive
Martin:The artist is Blaze Foley, a legendary outlaw country Texas musician. The record is called Wanted More Dead Than Alive, and my favorite song, honestly one of my favorite songs of all time, is “Clay Pigeons.” It’s an incredible tune, which John Prine made famous, but Blaze wrote it. Blaze Foley has an incredible story; he was one of those genuine outlaw guys, though I’m not sure of the specific crime he committed. He’s got some great records, including a live acoustic one that I know Will and I both love. You can tell it’s recorded straight to tape, with his wife or girlfriend and a crying baby in the same room — real, authentic Texas stuff. Blaze’s music is a huge inspiration, with great melodies, and tender, emotional, strong songwriting.
Essential Track: “Clay Pigeons”
10 Albums from Texas Hovvdy Think Everyone Should Own
Paolo Ragusa
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