Jack Conte’s Sleep in Color EP surprised me, with its rich, multi-faceted effects. Such a short endeavor could’ve easily gone unnoticed, but this one packs a lot into five songs. Each one involves a multitude of instruments, with a melody backed by various other parts…
I screwed up Kelli Scarr’s CD, and honestly, now I’m kind of glad I did. Not the actual CD, mind you, but the copy of Piece that I’m currently listening to — apparently I managed to mix up the track order pretty severely when I burned the disc so I could listen to it in the car…
Literature’s Tour EP is four tracks’ worth of indie-rock: somewhat sloppy vocals that go in and out of tune and well-crafted guitar parts with meaningful lyrics. The band is comprised of five young men from Austin who decorated their CD with a brown and white horse sticker…
Lost and Found and Lost is a twelve-track indie album, released last year to relieve those diehard fans of Baltimore, MD’s The Seldon Plan, who’d been patiently awaiting a follow up to 2007’s Collective Now. Michael Nestor and Dawn Dineen from the core band sing…
Jon Sebastian’s band Paper The Operator gives insight into the mind of a man with an indie-rock agenda and a fun-loving heart. There is some slight vibrato in his soft soothing voice, sounding a bit like Rivers Cuomo circa “Only in Dreams” or “Butterfly”…
On Tiny Vipers’ striking second album, Life on Earth, Jesy Fortino expands on her distinctive sound. Her songs are more songlike than on the previous album, although the core of the sound is still the same — it’s still just her voice and guitar, but she’s developing her melodies more…
This may well be as good as Twilight is ever going to get, and as it turns out that’s not too shabby. So Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is really into vampires. Well, a vampire (Edward Cullen). So much so that she wants nothing more to become one…
Right from the start of Logan (and the band’s previous EP, Chub, too), I caught myself betting the collective record collections of The Gary’s Dave Norwood, Paul Warner, and Trey Pool look a heck of a lot like, well, mine. And as the album unfolds, I found myself nodding and grinning…
I’ve been looking at this all wrong. My initial instinct, based on the band’s youth and cheery energy as much as on their knack for similarly cheery, shiny-sweet pop songs, is to applaud The Wild Moccasins for finally breaking out of the “kiddie-pop” niche…
There is nothing like a band where the drummer sings, especially when it’s a girl. In Point Juncture, WA, the sweet, silky, alto voice of Amanda Spring complements the clear tenor voice of Victor Nash. Both singers take the lead on certain songs and sing back up on others…
Few things are as constant as America’s need for cultural nostalgia. We Americans collectively loved the flower power revival of the mid-1990s and the recent movie remakes of classic 1980s cartoons. In fact, even our environmental disasters are rehashed 1980s tragedies (Ixtoc I, anyone?)…
I’ve heard a lot about indie dance-punk band Gossip (formerly known as The Gossip) for some time, but never gave them a listen until 2009’s Music for Men. The album is the band’s fourth studio album and has sold over one million copies worldwide since its release last June…
I can’t believe Tom Cruise movies have gotten old-fashioned. That’s not right. What I should say is: I can’t believe movie stars have gotten old-fashioned. But they have, and the proof is in Knight and Day‘s pudding…
Good songwriters are a dime a dozen, so it’s become difficult to pick out the ones that are truly worth your time and money. And the whole acoustic alternative/indie folk genre has almost become a joke because of all the generically good-but-not-great artists it churns out regularly. Because of that, it might be easy to disregard Brazos’ Phosphorescent Blues after a cursory listen…
If you’d told me a decade ago that in ten years’ time I’d be reading an honest-to-God book written by a guy in a Houston indie band — heck, about not only said band but about the music scene here in general — well, I’d have laughed you out of the room…
While I’m pretty sure that’s not what it’s talking about, the A-side of the new 7-inch single from retro-rockers Paris Falls, “Big Surprise,” actually does find itself a little ways off from what I’ve come to think of as the band’s main musical neighborhood…
There is nothing about B L A C K I E that is not singular. Despite his undeniable affinity and devotion to his native geography and his home in Chemical City (Pasadena) in particular, the solo endeavor of the man born Michael LaCour stands out as stark as the all-caps-with-spaces typography of his name…
The only time I’d ever seen or heard LIMB before now, the “band” consisted solely of primary instigator James Templeton, a laptop, a vintage-looking keyboard, a mixer, and a bunch of effects pedals. And while it was interesting, definitely, I can’t claim that it blew me away…
Music or theater? That’s the conundrum that hits me most frequently when listening to The Manichean’s self-titled debut EP: is this a band, or a theater troupe? Going by the EP itself, the answer may be “both.” It may be comprised of actual songs, but The Manichean strikes me as being far closer to an old-time radio play…
MC Chris is a hilarious white hardcore rapper, one who reminds me of Eminem because of his high-pitched voice and his amazing sense of humor. His new album, MC Chris Goes To Hell, is easily the funniest rap album I’ve ever heard, but beyond the humor…
Bright Works and Baton, the first EP by Cast Spells, is something to be played at a summer barbeque or other such lazy social event. It’s bright and pleasant, and it’s not one of those that has to “grow on you,” or that requires a “refined taste” in music…
Although they are “passionate about the blues tradition and hate following the rules,” I wasn’t really impressed by Black Smokers’ music; they could tighten it up a bit. They definitely have an edgy, European-wish-they-were-American rock sound, with underlying country tones…
Eivind Opsvik and Aaron Jennings continue to cover new ground on their third album, A Dream I Used to Remember. More straightforward than their previous projects, it mostly leaves behind the electronic tones and processing of their previous records for more of a traditional band sound…
In spite of the bright, sparkling melodies, wonderfully “round”-sounding notes, and sweet, village-harmony backing vocals, there’s a deep, tragic sense of sadness and loss to Tinariwen’s Imidiwan (which translates as “Companions” in the band’s native language, Tamashek; hence the subtitle)…
The film opens Somewhere In Mexico, with gangsters interrogating Hannibal (Liam Neeson in a bewildering rubber nose). Somewhere Else In Mexico, Bosco Albert Baracus (or B.A., a perfectly cast Quentin “Rampage” Jackson) races cops in a Lamborghini…
The best way to describe this CD is to say that it’s industrial, with influences from Skinny Puppy and older Ministry but with a well-thought-out Goth overtone. The scraping backgrounds, voice track overdubs, and soft and droning synthesizer beats meld into a grimy, overloaded, distorted-guitar sound…
On In the Crystal Canyon, the follow-up release to the band’s A Cloud in the Cathedral LP, Unsparing Sea doesn’t just stick to the basics, but includes a cello and an upright bass, for a more orchestral sound; think The Arcade Fire. Unsparing Sea even use a vox, vibraphone, flugelhorn, and a saw…
Clearly, my obsession with the mandolin and progressive rock drummers makes me the perfect person to review Soldier of Love, the latest release from English R&B artist Sade. It’s been 10 years since Sade’s last effort, and I assume a lot has changed in the world of R&B…
I had heard of Le Loup before listening to Family; I’d heard the name being thrown around a lot, but I had never actually sat down and listened to the band, so I had no idea what to expect…
The Dustys’ Sticky Blood is a six-song EP with a somewhat whimsical feel from a garage/psychedelic/folk band formed in Arlington, VA. The entire EP contains introspective lyrics over fairly upbeat music, which lends itself to a more somber sound occasionally….
Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) has no fear of overexposure. Whether it’s producing a Damon Albarn vehicle or linking up with rock icons Beck and Sparklehorse, it really feels like Danger Mouse has his hand in everything. This time around, mutual respect has brought Burton and The Shins’ frontman James Mercer…
Lee Simmons’ Doniphan Nights is an indie gem that should make Texans proud. Simmons produced it himself — besides track six — in his home studio in Austin, where he received assistance from other Austinite musicians. He is not just the average singer/songwriter, but original in his craft…
Hard though it might be to imagine, the new split-7″ release by Houston stoner-sludge-rock dudes the Linus Pauling Quartet and Austinite psych-rock heroes ST37 kind of took me by surprise, in good ways and bad. First off, the Quartet’s track, “Monster,” eschews the band’s trademark thundering guitar attack…
Easy Rider at Houston Worldfest Film Festival’s Tribute to Dennis Hopper: Dennis Hopper’s “Billy” and Peter Fonda’s “Captain America” make enough profit from a one-time cocaine deal that they are finally able to set out riding their custom motorcycles…
Go buy this album. Right now. Don’t bother reading this review. Honestly, the time it takes you to read this could be better served searching the internet for a good deal on Astro Coast. For the rest of you who enjoy reading a poorly reasoned and misinformed review, continue on…
Earthless is a power trio from San Diego that plays instrumental Japanese-style psychedelic rock. The band features Nebula guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, Electric Nazarene bass player Mike Eginton, and Rocket from the Crypt/Hot Snakes/Clikitat Ikatowi drummer Mario Rubalcaba…
It’s been four years since Midlake’s very successful The Trials of Van Occupanther put the Denton quintet on the indie rock map. Fans who’ve been chomping at the bit for new material can now rejoice, as the former UNT jazz students have released their newest album…
Finding the balance between accessible and original isn’t easy, but Los Fancy Free have managed to do it. Every song on their new album, Never Greens Vol. 1, is instantly listenable and holds your attention to the very end…
Sleepwalking Through The Mekong is more than just an inside look at a band and its music; it’s an inside look at a different culture. I’ve seen several DVDs that bands have put out, and I must say that I think this one from Dengue Fever is probably my favorite…
Homemade Confetti is The Lost Revival’s debut album, though they formed in 2005. They originally had a more predictable line-up, but added a synthesizer and drum machine after having their guitars stolen; the shift changed their whole vibe…
