The last day of January 2013 saw the David Thomas Jones "Comfort Creatures EP" release party form up at Holy Mountain, where Scan Hopper started it off right with a blazingly-good (albeit admittedly unrehearsed) set.

The tough task of following up that jam was left to uber-gigged Les RAV, who obliged (and then some) with Lauren Bruno's matchless vocal chops; backed, improbably, by harp and violin.

David Thomas Jones played bass during these sets, but now shifted to center stage for this, the main attraction, with his Watch Out For Rockets crew.

At which point the alluded-to Cosmic Intervention took place, with his guitar alternately screeching sweet rock goodness and going insanely mute.

You would think that frustration would rule the day - Turns out Jones' car gave up the ghost on the way to the show, thus confirming suspicions that Other Forces were working mischief - but Jones soldiered on, abiding in true Dudeist fashion, whipping his unruly guitar into submission whilest belting out his numbers with conviction.

All in all, put another notch on the David Thomas Jones belt - Fighting cosmic intervention for the sake of rock. And coming out on top, with an excellent show.

Release 1 - Creationists are having a full-on coming out party for their latest release, Ἁγία Σοφία, this Saturday, 1/26/13, at Trailer Space Records.  To be escorted by Dikes of Holland, Coma in Algiers, and Kingdom of Suicide Lovers.  Need more details??  Go here

Release 2 - David Thomas Jones is throwing down a release party for "Comfort Creatures" (which we called "...arguably, the best indie alt rock record of 2012.") at Holy Mountain next Thursday, 1/31/13.  To be accompanied by the three bands he performs with, Watch Out For Rockets, Les Rav, and Scan Hopper, with End Wave ending the soiree.  And as an added treat, the Austin Chapter of Dudeism will be abiding at a priest ordainment booth.  Or not.  More details here.

Catch - From the "You mighta missed this one" department - Perennial local favorites The Sour Notes went on tour last year, and all we got was this sweet mini-documentary.  Check it out:

Then they re-issued "Last Looks" and made a new music video for the title track.  Nice:

We've tallied the results for the Open Submissions stage of our Austin Year End Poll. Deli Editors from other scenes ranked all of the submissions, and the list of acts that have advanced to our Readers/Fans Poll phase are below. We will also be releasing the list of nominees chosen by our local "scene expert" jurors very soon.

Thanks to all the acts who submitted their artistry to us. Our open submissions pool was truly a celebration of Austin&rsquos musical talent and diversity.

Total submissions from the Austin Scene: 27

Jurors: Q.D. Tran (Deli Philadelphia), Brandi Lukas (Deli Philadelphia), Paolo De Gregorio (Deli NYC).

The Deli Staff

david thomas jones has previously received lovin’ from The Deli Austin, and is about it get it again. Until Mr. Jones conquers his dream of making a Bauhaus tribute band, he’s doing pretty well making dancey indie pop tunes that house variety by way of tropical beats, alternative edginess and a folk approach. - Brandi Lukas

David Thomas Jones, taking after his better-known "Indiana" namesake, typically consorts with primitive relics of a bygone age. Namely, a 4-track cassette tape recorder. This was the man's go-to gear for recording his music, typically in the living room of his apartment. It's what his Watch Out For Rockets crew recorded on. They turned out 5 albums-worth of stellar lofi alt rock on that thing, catching attention and raising expectations all over the continent.

But we're using the past tense here (maybe you caught that), because Jones has managed to get in some time in a real recording studio, on real equipment.  And rock-star producer/engineer James Jones manned the conn and caught it all in Protools.  And the results confirm our best hopes - In a pristine setting, Jones did what he does best, and now we have, arguably, the best indie alt rock record of 2012.

Bold statement, that. But not a stretch, really. Go back and listen to those 5 lofi releases. Glimmering between the tape hiss and room noise and muddy tonal balance, it's hard to miss the budding compositional chops. Like John Williams, Jones has that knack for generating tunes from a wealth of genres that are familiar enough to hang a motif on, yet fresh enough to rivet our attention.

Our Lives, for example, is the opening track. A World-flavored, David Byrne-ish tune, with disco-danceable percs and a marimba-lead melody, then sealed tight with Jones' easy-to-sing-along-with chorused vox. It's a viral-inducing, irresistible piece of work, and a pretty far piece from your typical lofi stuff. This opening is followed up by the easy-in alt-rock "Diced Gold"; a vaguely familiar rock-pop number with definitely unfamiliar breaks and bridges. Then, the loveable straight-up rock of "Butcher In The Sky" enters as a moody & somber, yet easy-to-air-guitar-and-bellow-along-with rock anthem. Next, the cinematically-familiar "Perfect Knots" gives us a softer, jazzy, piano & drum & bass number, with Jones' vox gently luring us close before skewering us with a dramatic piano arpeggio - Surprisingly subtle stuff from a guy known for lofi. 

The next track though, "The Deaf Words", obliterates the previous gentle touch with thick rock-steady guitar thrash, and then kills it with an almost-too-abrupt fake ending. "Alibi" brings intimacy as Jones' picks the acoustic guitar along folksy chord progressions, but not dipping into folk art. And the last track, "Coffin Electricity", seals and delivers the package with a more familiar driving-rock theme.

And when you look back over this collection, the alt rock and jazz and folk and thrashing-rock, the hard and soft motifs, the subtle and not-so-subtle, you see a variety of influences and sounds; none of which overpower, and all of which comprise a masterful whole. Stepping up his production game, Jones has deftly navigated past the Charybdis of indie releases - No track sounds like another. And all shine with the happy confluence of professionally-handled tech meeting masterfully-generated art. For a first step into a brave new studio-clean world, it's off-the-charts good, and one of the best Austin-based releases this year. -Scott Osborn

Comfort Creatures is due Nov. 27th.

Find out more on David Thomas Jones on Fakebook or on his website at www.davidthomasjones.com.