Shrimp Olympics

Shrimp Olympics

Shrimp Olympics is the home recording project of singer/songwriter Austin Lombardo. Austin has been writing and playing music from a very young age, performing in bands with a few usual suspects he met at school. Wang Mango, The Everett Interpretation, these are the names of a few bands formed with friends that Austin played in over the years, ever changing as his tastes and style evolved. In 2012, Austin began making home recordings out of his parents' basement, burning copies of the albums he would produce to friends. The three albums he would record in this time are noisey art rock, very influenced by the likes of Syd Barrett and Captain Beefheart. Even in these early recordings, one can find Austin's style taking hold.

in 2016, after releasing his third eponymous project through avenues like Bandcamp and Soundcloud, Austin found himself subtly reworking his sound, ever influenced by those around him, and a slightly growing scene in his hometown of Minneapolis. Out of this reworking, came 2017's evenings, the Shrimp Olympics debut. It's a roughly 30-minute LP led by acoustic guitar, reverbed-out bongo drums, and a distinct bluesy melancholy. Austin croons about love, snakes, and the psychedelia of everyday life. The following year, Austin would mature to extra instrumentation, giving the second Shrimp Olympics record a jazzy feel. This would culminate in his third LP of the project, 2019's i love money, one of this humble writer's personal favorite albums.

That same year, Austin would assemble a Shrimp Olympics live band, touring his state of Minneapolis and making a name for the Shrimps. In 2021, Shrimp Olympics would be signed to the label Bumpy Records, first releasing a Best Of compilation, before the almost-Halloween 2021 release of his breakout LP silk lizard. Silk Lizard combines years of unreleased melodies and wholly new tracks into what may be Shrimp Olympics' most polished and radio-worthy effort yet. To date, Shrimp Olympics has released five studio albums and an EP. Austin shows no signs of stopping, currently deep in the recording of an as-yet untitled sixth record which should prove to be his most ambitious yet.

In his compositions, Austin filters a lifetime love of music, his favorite songs, pop zeitgiests, songs half-remembered heard on the radio a decade ago. He takes the feel and soul of the past half-century of American music, creates out of that lineage something wholly new and original. There's a certain magic to his albums, feeling both like a hit yet-to-chart, and a familiar song you've known all your life. It's more than just pastiche, though. Austin is a true master chef of sound, mixing the right auditory ingredients to create the perfect dishes. You can find his albums on Bandcamp, or any streaming service.

Official Studio Albums:

  • evenings (no label, 2017) K7
  • "hot meal" (no label, 2018) K7
  • i love money (no label, 2019) K7
  • danish breakfast sunday (no label, 2019) CD/K7
  • if can be, the best of... (Bumpy Records, 2021) K7
  • silk lizard (Bumpy Records, 2021) K7
  • cemetary tongue EP (no label, 2022) DIGITAL ONLY
  • feel (no label, 2023) K7(??)

Unofficial Releases:

  • demo (no label, 2016) K7
  • various covers EP (no label, 2017) DIGITAL ONLY
  • neil young (no label, 2017) DIGITAL ONLY
  • advice EP (no label, 2020) DIGITAL ONLY
  • rarities (no label, 2020) K7
  • soundtrack (no label, 2021) K7
  • chopped onions (no label, 2022) K7

Albums as Austin Lombardo:

  • meat and drink (no label, 2013) CD
  • lily eggers (no label, 2014) CD
  • getting ready for the day (no label, 2015) CD

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