Independent music · Austin, Texas

Russel
Taine Jr.

Austin, TX indie rock that hits like Tom Petty on a shoegaze bender.

Based in Austin, TX, Russel Taine Jr. "channels millennial pop-punk through Uncle Tupelo" in a Texas-sized sound that's been described as “If Tom Petty were from Texas, but with more Iggy Pop.”

Ghosts is out now.

Released December 2025. Five live-tracked songs that trade big hooks for hushed confession. Think Elliott Smith fronting Band of Horses in a candle-lit room. Listen to the first single “Sidewinder.”

Listen to the 1st single

  • "Like The Lemonheads and The Jayhawks—that nexus of sweet Americana and power-pop."

    Post to Wire

  • "Channels millennial pop-punk through Uncle Tupelo."

    Adobe and Teardrops

  • “Sometimes I just want to hear sounds that feel down home and down to earth. That is what you have here and it is fucking lovely.”

    Robb Donker Curtius // American Pancake

The latest EP · December 2025

Ghosts

Illustration with the words 'RUSH:EL TAINET' at the top and 'GHOSTS' at the bottom. Features colorful, stylized figures of ghosts, a small person with a large afro, a flying car with wings, and various abstract shapes and clouds in vibrant colors.

Think Tom Petty fronting Band of Horses in a candle-lit practice room—jangly acoustics, tape-saturated drums, and synth pads that float like porch-light moths.

Learn more
Listen to Sidewinder

Get a sneak peek of Ghosts

While we prepped the full EP, we decided to record the whole thing live (again!) at HowMuch?! Studios in Austin, TX. We hope ya enjoy it as much as we did while making it.

The debut album · available now

Tales

Our first full-length album. 12 tracks of power-pop recorded at Test Tube Studios that have been described by Austin’s radio station KUTX as a pop-powered anti-folk project.

Listen now