The Austin 100: Holy Pinto

By Stephen Thompson

Published March 17, 2020 at 4:01 AM CDT

Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Genre: Indie Pop

Why We're Excited: Aymen Saleh makes sweetly jangling, goodnatured Britpop — appropriate for a guy who grew up in Canterbury, England. But he eventually found his way to an American town that won his heart (that'd be the great city of Milwaukee) and now uses his songwriting to reflect on the pull of both places and the pressures inherent in growing up. Dispensed with abundant charm and grace, his songs feel warm and lived-in.

Listen to Holy Pinto's " Milwaukee"

Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)

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