• News

• All

Oct 29, 2024 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Dan Winters

Molecular Steve is a new Austin-based band, beginning first as a father-son collaboration before expanding into a nine-person collective featuring musicians from Austin bands like Prescott Curlywolf, The Damnations, and The Meat Puppets. The band released their debut album earlier this year via Strolling Bones Records, crafting a swirling psych pop sprawl laced with jangly ‘90s indie guitars and hints of cosmic Americana. Today, the band are following the record’s release with a new video for their track, “Nil Game,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Nil Game” plays out like a forgotten ‘90s-era R.E.M. deep cut, pairing a catchy central melody with plenty of twangy and jangly guitars. The track feels sunny and infectiously upbeat, but the lyrics also carry a bitter, sarcastic side: “Check your attitude / You’re gonna get it in the face / Another playground platitude / Like everybody makes mistakes / It was a nil game / You played it all the same.” Meanwhile, the accompanying video plays into the album’s surrealist and color-saturated visual aesthetic, centering on broadcast from the masked Molecular Steve. The video is directed by Austin Leih with photography by Leih and Joey Hunt.

Band member Ron Byrd says of the track, “Like playing ‘Tic Tac Toe,’ human behavior favors the ‘Nil Sum’ game; making the same mistake over and over again, expecting to get a different result. This song is a sardonic commentary on our behavior, with a catchy hook.”

Check out the song and video below. The band’s self-titled album, Molecular Steve, is out now via Strolling Bones Records.