The Static Sea, Third Parties
Here’s how the story of The Static Sea unfolds: There once was a man who didn’t know what to do with his life, so he became a fisherman because it seemed noble enough. As he went out to sea one day, he fell overboard…
Balmorhea, Stranger
It’s hard to listen to Balmorhea’s new full-length, Stranger, and not think of other things. I’m talking partly about other bands, obviously — there’s a whole heck of a lot of resemblance to fellow Austin instro-rockers Explosions…
Looper
God, I would have loved to have been in the pitch meeting for this thing. “Okay, so it’s like The Terminator, right? Except John Connor’s the bad guy, and the Terminator’s target is himself. Oh, and people can move shit with their minds…
Review written on September 29, 2012 | Joshua Starnes | Posted in Features,Reviews | Leave a comment
The Shins, Port of Morrow
Regardless of how you may feel about The Shins, odds are good that you at least know who they are. They’re one of those bands that I feel became popular because of Zach Braff, who really is somebody that I wouldn’t go to for music advice…
Eternal Summers, Correct Behavior
While I thoroughly enjoyed Roanoke, Virginia, trio (well, then still a duo) Eternal Summers’ debut album Silver, I remember thinking that the album was more of a stepping stone for what would come next…
The 71’s, We Are The Seventy Ones
The more I listen to We Are The Seventy Ones, the more it feels like it’s both an album out of its time and one that’s just right for right now. Better still, it’s damn sneaky about it. See, it took me a little while to realize…
Twin Shadow, Confess
When you’re as confident as George Lewis Jr., life must not present much of a challenge. After all, how difficult are things for Lewis when the desire to picture an “attractive male on the cover of [his] album” is fulfilled with a glamour shot of himself?…
Future of the Left, the plot against common sense
First off, let me confess that I’ve loved this album since the very first note, and here’s why: Future of the Left combines the sound of many of my favorite bands. In any particular song, I can hear something like System of a Down without the metal, Sex Pistols and…
David Ramirez, Apologies
I know this’ll sound weird, but go with me on it, okay? There’s this great, great feeling of downtrodden world-weariness to David Ramirez’s Apologies, one that infuses every track, even the more upbeat, more overtly roots-rock-y songs like “Stick Around” or “Mighty Fine.” Ramirez sings like a man who’s been broken down by the very life he’s chosen, roaming from place to place to place, never really finding a place of his own to hold onto…
Keith Sewell, The Way of a Wanderer
The title track of Keith Sewell’s album The Way of a Wanderer can be seen as a declaration of purpose for this singer, songwriter, and musician. In creating the album, he chose to play most of the instruments himself, infusing bluegrass melodies…
Black Pistol Fire, Shut Up!
With Shut Up!, Black Pistol Fire has delivered a five-song EP that is the songs of Little Richard, only with their BPF sort-of punk rock sound added into the chorus. Confession: whenever I get music, I never actually read the press release. Well, sometimes I do…
Rebekah Higgs, Odd Fellowship
As I continue to hear these self-named female musician/songwriters (you know, like Tori Amos and Lisa Loeb, as opposed to .that dog and Letters to Cleo), I continue to hope for something better than what I last listened to and cast aside…
Featherface, Actual Magic
If you listen closely enough to Actual Magic, the debut full-length from Houston-based psych-pop band Featherface, you realize suddenly that the whole thing’s going in about eight different directions all at once. And yet, they’re subtle about it…
Tyagaraja, As Is
It’s funny, but I honestly figured it’d be the other way around. I figured I’d like the first album more than this little tossed-out EP. But I apparently had things backwards. I’d liked what I’d heard of Tyagaraja’s music in the past, and I was amazed a few years before…
Weird Party, Hussy
Some old, some new, and the hell with what went before — that’s what I walk away with after listening to Weird Party’s “debut” full-length, “Hussy”. See, there’re several songs on here that have been floating around a while now…
P.L.X.T.X, TIME
If your “music” absolutely must have melodies and sweetly-sung vocals and nice, clean production, well, you’re going to want to stay far, far the fuck away from P.L.X.T.X’s debut EP, TIME. If, on the other hand, you’re willing to listen to music that’s rough…
Florence + the Machine, MTV Unplugged
Whenever I hear the title MTV Unplugged, my first thought is always of the epic performance that Nirvana gave, which would go down as one of their greatest albums. While I may have at one point in time owned Eric Clapton Unplugged on cassette, I also had bootleg cassettes I taped…
Coke Weed, Nice Dreams
Rather than discuss the male/female (but mostly female) vocals mixed with that country sound that reminds me of Two Gallants, George Jones, Willie Nelson, and Cowboy Junkies, I’m going to examine what a “Coke Weed” actually is…
New York City Queens, Burn Out Like Roman Candles
Yeah, I’ll admit it — those New York City Queens kids have charmed me, thoroughly and completely. I was skeptical of the band at first, and hell, I couldn’t even tell you why, but when they popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, and nonchalantly tossed their debut…
Guardian Alien, See the World Given to a One Love Entity
Um. Whoa. I just finished listening to Guardian Alien’s new full-length, See the World Given to a One Love Entity, and I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, to the point where my head’s still spinning somewhat. Give me a second…
Memoryhouse, The Slideshow Effect
At face value, it’s hard to view Memoryhouse’s debut LP as anything more than the generic musical expression of a subculture guided by the easily-digested values of Urban Outfitters or American Apparel. Maybe it’s the obscure photography jargon referenced in both the band’s name…
CAMPAIGN, The Black Album
CAMPAIGN is a kick in the teeth. CAMPAIGN is about being over your head in debt, having to work a job that you hate just to put food on the table for an ungrateful wife and kids. CAMPAIGN is the face of the working class who are tired of being seen as working class…
RACES, Year Of The Witch
It took me a few listens, I’ll admit it, to get Year Of The Witch, California band RACES’ debut full-length. The first time I threw it on, I mostly shrugged and said, “Next!,” putting something else on after barely a song and a half…
Forever Came Calling, Contender
I don’t care if you call it “melodic punk,” “post-hardcore,” or “emo,” whatever; the music San Bernadino band Forever Came Calling makes on its debut full-length is flat-out great, great, great, awesomely melodic, beautiful-yet-fiery rock that doesn’t stroll…
Q-Fest Preview: Gayby
Bikram yoga and comic books come together in Gayby, a movie about Jenn (Jenn Harris), a thirty-something yoga instructor who decides that single life isn’t enough and asks her gay best friend Matt…
Q-Fest Preview: Wariazone & Rites of Passage
The Asia Society Texas partners with Q-Fest to present “Focus on Asia,” two documentary films that examine the notions of gender and identity within Asian cultures. The presentation begins with Wariazone…
Q-Fest Preview: Beauty
Last year, Beauty was submitted as South Africa’s entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards. It’s easy to see why, as Oliver Hermanus, wearing the hats of both director and writer…
Q-Fest Preview: Cloudburst
Q-Fest kicks off at Museum of Fine Arts Houston Thursday night when the Southwest Alternative Media Project partners to bring award winning director Thom Fitzgerald‘s third feature Cloudburst to town…
Killer Joe
Killer Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) kills people. For $20,000, he will take care of any problem you have, permanently. That is, when he’s not tied by his day job as Dallas homicide detective. And that’s the good news…
St. Vincent, Strange Mercy
My first introduction to St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) was her album Actor, which I admittedly enjoyed a bit too much. I only can say now that I enjoyed it a bit too much, mind you, because after hearing Strange Mercy…
Tiger High, Myth is This
Is it funny to anyone else that baseball season started relatively recently, and here I am listening to all of this music that I really don’t end up liking in the end? I mean, I’m not saying it’s “ha-ha” funny, but the fact is that I feel like I’ve been having a rough time lately…
From Beyond, One Year EP
I think what I’m liking most about From Beyond One Year EP is that while it is heavy, make no mistake about it, it’s not too heavy; it’s just the right amount of stomping, crushing thunder so that it doesn’t get dragged down…
The Ex-Optimists, “Nitemare City”/“February”
I’m honestly kicking myself now for not listening to this sooner. College Station band The Ex-Optimists have been on repeat in my headphones for a while now, drowning me in a turbulent squall of Sonic Youth guitars, driving ’90s indie-drone-rock melodies…
Bang Bangz, Bang Bangz EP
For all the layers of sound on Bang Bangz’s debut EP, there’s a quiet, somber darkness that’s worked through the whole thing, from start to finish. Simply put, it’s a “night” album, but it’s not a “whoo, I spent all night partying with my bros” album…
Second Lovers, Wishers, Dreamers & Liars
These days, it’s getting hard to throw a rock in this city without hitting a roots-rock/indie-folk-country band, and while it’s true that a large number of ’em are good, it can be tempting to get jaded and cynical each time a new one comes along…
B L A C K I E, GEN
B L A C K I E — that’s all caps, no spaces — seems like the type of musician who doesn’t want you to hear his music. It almost seems as if the first track on GEN, “Gen I,” is a test to see if you can make it to the rest of the songs…
Polly Paulusma, Leaves From The Family Tree
At first listen, I want to easily throw Polly Paulusma into a category with Jewel (before Jewel went country) and call her some kind of female singer/songwriter and have that be the end of it. The more I listen to Leaves From The Family Tree, however…
Messy Sparkles, Feeling Good Forever
I’ve been listening to a whole heck of a lot more techno music lately, and it definitely hasn’t been on purpose. I keep getting these bands that have songs with those modern disco beats in the background, but yet they sound like an indie-rock band…
The Eastern Sea, Plague
Grace — that’s what it is, I think. There’s this weird, serene feeling I get whenever I listen to The Eastern Sea, this strange calmness that rolls over me like a wave (appropriately enough), leaving me drifting along, pulled by the music…
Mogwai, Earth Division
Scottish instrumental institution Mogwai continue to soldier on with their latest release, Earth Division. On their 19th effort, they still continue to pursue new ideas; Earth Division is a mellower Mogwai than we normally see…
