Question: Is it too early to make your Valentine’s Day plans?

Answer: Not at all.

Forgoe waiting in line and having to tip a snooty Maître D’ by coming to Beauty Bar for hot jamz, a kissing booth and a photo booth to document the love that will surely be in the air.  Mark your calender now and go ahead and put a bug in that special someone’s ear.

The next monthly Beauty Bar party with Car Stereo (Wars) is gonna be a doozy. It features one of our favorite up and coming Austin acts Neiliyo!  Check out what the Austin Decider has to say:

“Armed with little more than a laptop, a Telecaster, and a pair of sunglasses (and often leaving behind other things, like his pants), Austin’s Neiliyo is one of several artists making good use of the 21st-century democratization of music—which is to say he steals cheesy shit from Technotronic and Nu Shooz, rips it apart, and starts again with a barrage of arpeggiated synths, 808 beats, dance-punk guitar, and half-joking come-ons. When he’s not playing digital pirate—as on his new mixtape Copywriting 101, celebrating its “official” release here—he’s cranking out electro-funk rave-ups that split the difference between LCD Soundsystem (before he got all serious) and Har Mar Superstar (before he got all famous). Fellow copyright scofflaw Car Stereo (Wars) spins afterward.” (link)

The Neiliyo mixtape is great.  Trust us.

As 2008 ends and 2009 gears up, more and more end of year lists are popping up and what do you know:  The Laughing’s name keeps appearing!  EarFarm.com named Jungle on of the Top 8 EPs of 2008 right along with Final Fantasy and Animal Collective saying:

“Named one of our Top Breakout Bands for ‘08/’09, Austin’s The Laughing captures the smiling mope of The Cure and mixes it with heavy doses of primal thunder and late-career Talking Heads jungle love. It’s equally sexy and weird, catchy and danceable. Think Clap Your Hands Say Yeah mixed with TV On The Radio. Or perhaps, if David Cronenberg’s The Fly were a band, it’d be The Laughing. Decide for yourself if that sounds like something you’d like. Chances are you’ll fall in love immediately.”

The Laughing also showed up on Erik Wofford’s best of the year list that was published on Austinist.com.  Erik explains “their second EP expands upon their love of all things tribal and otherworldly.”

Happy New Year and if you live in the Austin area be sure to catch the Laughing for FREE Friday January 9th at the Mohawk.