When it comes to the children of prominent musicians and music related figures, it’s always interesting to see if they tread similar ground as their parents or go off in drastically different directions. Sometimes you get bands like Vended that tread very close to what two of their member’s parents did in Slipknot, but in other cases you have musicians like Tron Austin. Austin is the son of producer Dallas Austin and TLC’s Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and with his parent’s long careers in the realm of R&B, hip-hop, and pop, you might be expecting something similar. But on his debut EP Better Days, Austin instead goes for chilled out 90s alternative rock and shoegaze with hints of hard rock added in to give the material a bit of an edge. It’s a very nostalgic style that channels what other recent artists like Teenage Wrist have been going for, and while there’s room for Tron Austin to further branch out the strong hooks on this EP establish a strong foundation.
Right from the first minute or so of opener “Lean On Me”, it’s clear that Tron Austin is determined to find that sweet spot between soft, dreary melodies and heavier instrumentation. The driving tempo and soaring guitar lines mixed with the crunchier drums and denser basslines recall quite a few 90s artists from across the alternative rock, shoegaze, and hard rock spectrums, and your personal tastes are likely to determine what Better Days reminds you of. “Lost Without You” slows things down a bit but makes things even denser in terms of sound, as the bass and drums rumble out of your speakers with quite a bit of weight and give off more of a hard rock edge even as the guitar work continues a dreamier and melancholic tone. At certain points there’s a lot of Nirvana’s softer moments showing as influences, but the fuzzier shoegaze and additional elements keep this EP from sounding like pure grunge. It’s an approach that works well, and the mix of high energy and slower, introspective tracks gives listeners plenty of riffs that will stick with them and keep them coming back for more. The soaring melodies on “Face the Lies” and the bouncier, brighter tone of “Eternal Mysteries” are stand-outs in particular, but the concise track lengths ensures specific riffs don’t overstay their welcome and this is easy to jam from start to finish. There is room for Tron Austin to shake up the formula a bit more though, as around the halfway point it feels like the mid-tempo and slower tracks fall into familiar patterns and blur together a bit. The heavier elements also are a bit milder than I was expecting given some of the artists called out in the press release, as they’re primarily limited to the bass and drums. I’d be interested in hearing a bit more of that edge from the guitars and maybe some unexpected shifts in tempo, as this could mix well with the calmer alternative rock vibes. It is worth calling out that the production on this EP is fantastic though, as it nails that crunchier tone from the 90s but gives each instrument the chance to breathe.
There may be some heavier edges to the instrumental work, but Tron Austin’s singing skews towards the softer end of the spectrum. Austin has a great voice, and it’s likely to be what draws quite a few people to Better Days, as it’s lighter and airier but still has quite amount of power behind the performance. Songs like “Lean On Me” feature a lot of harmonized passages where different sides of Austin’s range come together to create some beautiful moments. There are some jagged edges here and there, especially on “Take Yourself Away” where the vocals incorporate some sung/screamed sections but it remains an additional detail rather than a focal point. It also felt like a bit of R&B flow snuck into some of the material as well, giving Tron Austin a slightly different tone than your average rock act, and this is an element he can use to his advantage down the road.
Falling somewhere between dreary shoegaze and much brighter alternative rock, Tron Austin’s debut EP comes across as nostalgic and fresh while giving listeners plenty of soaring hooks to keep them coming back. The heavier side does balance things out, and while there’s room for Austin to expand upon these elements as well as shake up the formula a bit more with additional time it seems like he reach some significant heights. As easy as it is to fall back to the acts of the past with how non-existent rock is in the mainstream right now, I appreciate newcomers like Austin trying to keep that flame alive.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg