Pure X

Austin, Texas trio Pure X play languid, dreamy, noise pop that floats on a raft of thick, distorted guitar sounds, carried along by a current of simple but determined rhythms. The members of Pure X first met when they were attending college in San Marcos, Texas, not far from Austin. Bassist Jesse Jenkins and drummer Austin Youngblood were members of the band Silver Pines, while guitarist and vocalist Nate Grace played in a short-lived band with Jenkins and released a handful of solo projects on cassette. After spending some time traveling, Grace settled in Austin in 2009, and invited Jenkins and Youngblood to jam with him. These first informal get-togethers evolved into a band called Pure Ecstasy, but when the Texans learned there was a show band in California using the same name, they changed their handle to Pure X. (As Grace told journalist Amber Bravo, "I like Pure X. Pure "blank" is how I like to think of it.") Aligning themselves with the like-minded bands on Austin's Light Lodge Records label, Pure X began releasing a steady stream of 7" and cassette releases; their favored recording technique was to cut everything live to tape, with no overdubs and minimal editing. After receiving encouraging reviews for their initial releases and live shows, Pure X came to the attention of Acephale Records, who released the band's first full-length album, Pleasure, in the summer of 2011.