Austin’s Urban Heat on transforming post-punk

Photo Credit: Ima Leupp

Urban Heat is determined to make waves. The Austin post-punk band, made up of Jonathan Horstmann, Kevin Naquin and Paxel Foley, just finished writing and recording new music. After playing a series of dates at SXSW earlier this month, the band is already back on the road to promote the release of their first EP on vinyl.

The band’s synth heavy sound draws from new wave, goth rock, dark wave, and post-punk to create a more modern tone. Though Horstmann first became interested in synths through meditation, his relationship with the instrument has evolved over the years. “I still love an analog synth, but I'm more open to starting with that sound and then using digital tools to manipulate it in interesting ways,” he explains over zoom. 

Urban Heat formed in 2019, after Horstmann linked up with Naquin and Foley. The band released a string of minimal synthwave / dark synth-pop singles within a short time of coming together. On “That Gun in Your Hand,” the band tackles gun violence in schools. The track ends with a call to action to “put your guns on the ground.” On “A Simple Love Song,” the band takes nostalgic 80s sounds to create an anthemic ballad about an apocalyptic romance. 

In 2022, Urban Heat released their debut EP Wellness. The EP was co-produced alongside Jonas Wilson. On the dance-punk opening track “Trust,” Horstmann exposes the “American Dream" ethos as a mirage over ascending arpeggiated synths. The song “Have You Ever?” asks us to question whether what we’ve been taught is real. The 22-minute release pulls from a variety of influences like new wave and synth-pop. Lyrically, the songs delicately balance despair and hope.

“With the Wellness EP, a lot of that was about how we were processing the pandemic, new fatherhood, and those sorts of anxieties,” Horstmann says. “Wellness feels like therapy for others where the new record kind of feels like therapy for myself.” He explains, “If the old record was life seen through the lens of my experience, then the new record is more about what the lens of my experience is. I think the next record might be good for when folks want to listen to something and stay sad–and just feel it,” Horstmann laughs. 

Horstmann had finished tracking the new record when we spoke. “I wrote everything in between the last tour and the new year,” he explains. “We had Aaron Steele–who used to drum for Portugal. The Man–he came out from Nashville and put live drums on the record out here in Austin about a month ago. Then I went out to LA to do vocals.”

The band took a step back when thinking about the sound and instrumentation of the new record. Working with producer Benjamin Greenspan, they set out to reinterpret the sound of their influences. “A lot of what I want to do with this genre is take inspiration from late 70s, early 80s sounds, but really bring them to a production standard that you just don't get on those old records. I don't want this to sound like a project that's from a past era. I want it to sound like something coming from the future,” Horstmann says. “Every record, I try to bring in some new toys and get inspiration from that. A lot of the instrumentation is the same as the last record, but we’re sonically bringing it to different places,” he says.

Earlier this month, the band released their cover of the Q Lazzarus song “Goodbye Horses.” The single features the B-side “Blissful Neighbor.” Horstmann explains, “This will be the first time anybody's heard live drums on an Urban Heat track, and it's still blended with drum machines,” he says. It’s also a chance for fans to hear the band work with both producers. “Our ‘Goodbye Horses’ cover is coming out and [Greenspan] produced that, but the B-side on that is a song called ‘Blissful Neighbor’ that Jonas produced,” Horstmann says. 

Horstmann describes that adding a live drummer opened a new door for the band and credits Greenspan for the idea. “What that allowed me to do was to have some post-rock moments–Explosions in the Sky instrumental guitars, like shoegaze-y sort of stuff– where we haven't really done that before,'' he says. A drummer will be joining the band’s stage show. 

In February the band released their Wellness EP on red vinyl, quickly selling out online. The band will have copies on hand during their US/CA tour opening for Athens post-punk band Vision Video. “We got like 150, so I think we'll end up selling out of them,” Horstmann says. The band has already ordered a repress. 

Talking about the tour, he says, “This next tour, we're going out doing rooms that are like 250 to 500, and so that is just so exciting. We've never toured in Canada. This would be our first time as a band, leaving the United States.” Horstmann continues, ”We couldn't be more excited about it. It's gonna be such a blast to be able to connect with some of the places that we're going to.”

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To purchase Wellness from the band head to their Bandcamp. Their music can also be streamed on Spotify and other platforms. To purchase merch directly from the band, head to their store. Follow Urban Heat on Instagram, Twitter. Go see Urban Heat on the road:

March 28 - Louisville, KY - Zanzabar*
March 29 - Columbus, OH - Rumba Cafe*
March 30 - Detroit, MI - Magic Bag*
March 31 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern*
April 2 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground*
April 4 - London, ON - Rum Runners*
April 6 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz*
April 7 - Brattleboro, VT - The Stone Church*
April 8 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Loft, The Chance Theater*
April 9 - Cambridge, MA - Sonia *
April 10 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar 
April 11 - Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery*
April 12 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Music Hall*
April 14 - Charleston, SC - The Roof
April 15 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
April 16 - New Orleans, LA - Santos Bar
April 21 - McAllen, TX - The Flying Walrus
April 22 - Laredo, TX - Wonder Lounge
May 20 - Pasadena, CA - Cruel World 2023
May 21 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren

*w/Vision VIdeo

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