the Blind Pets

Rock 'n' roll faith-healers the Blind Pets, known for their show-stopping live gigs where frontman Joshua Logan jumps into the crowd wrestles his Gibson SG into sonic oblivion, have long been a spark plug in the engine of Austin's underground music scene. Their working-class sound, recalling both the frantic guitar pop of Thee Oh Sees and the classic rock hooliganism of the Eagles of Death Metal, demonstrates conviction to the holy trinity of heavy guitar, bass, and drums that'll make you a believer again.

While they've received consistent critical acclaim since forming in 2007—the Austin Chronicle calling their 2011 LP Sweet Tooth "One of the better Saturday night rock LPs in recent memory" and being repeatedly heralded as a must-see band by KUTX—2013 has proved a watershed year for the trio. They successfully completed three west coast tours, received prominent placement on the soundtrack for Showtime hit Californication, and had their He Said She Said 7-inch released by local trendsetters Pau Wau Records.

In Austin, you can find the Blind Pets detonating speakers at eastside honky-tonk the White Horse or laying down supped-up stoner rock on Stubb's intimate inside stage, but more often than not, they're out beating up the road and making their name the old fashioned way: playing shows and selling records. Their energetic performances have been well documented, featured in taste-making video series the Good Music Club as well as in the documentary Outside Industry: the Story of SXSW, but it's the Pets' back catalog, three LP's and a single, that proves them exceptional. Sugar (2007), Smashed (2009), Sweet Tooth (2011), and He Said She Said (2013) have exhibited continued growth in chemistry, songwriting, and overall intensity to become an all around dynamic force. The antithesis of today's unruffled indie rock detachment, the Blind Pets fight with passion to connect. In their sweat, there's showmanship. In their lyrics, there's soul. That sound coming their amplifiers isn't just distortion—it's the invincible spirit of rock 'n' roll.