Cocteau Twins

The 35 Must-See Bands at 35 Denton

So, this is definitely a top-five weekend in North Texas music annually. We're flush with bands this time of year, what with the mid-size tour Mecca four hours south and four days away. But much of what's going on in the Metroplex in the coming weeks owes at least as much of its awesome to our own d ... More >>

16 of the Best Local Releases of 2012 1/2

As we wind down the month of June and find ourselves square in the middle of 2012, there's that old familiar nudge to gather, quantify, qualify and categorize the local music we've enjoyed so far this year. Here are some of of favorites.

Elkhart's Travis Hopper On Being a First-Time Dad, the Band's Future

​ Some local bands play so much that you take them for granted. In the case of Elkhart, they've barely played this year, but with good reason. Luckily, their Americana-influenced rock returns to City Tavern tonight. Frontman Travis Hopper, who told us earlier this year about the band's futur ... More >>

Listen to School of Seven Bell's New Single, Between Notes Film Earns Release & More

​Just a few weeks ago, shoegaze duo with local ties, School of Seven Bells, announced that their third full- length record, Ghostory, would be released at the beginning of 2012. Today, Pitchfork reports that the album's official release date will be February 28, 2012.With the news, the band went a ... More >>

Little Black Dress

Don't Worry Baby EP "Exploding Plastic/Idol Records"

The Angelus

On A Dark & Barren Land "Gutterth Records"

Ghostland Observatory, Anthrax, Wild Flag and The Rest of This Weekend's Best Shows

Pace yourself this weekend. Lots of good shows to see.​Halloween is on Monday, so there should be a good handful people in costume out and about this weekend -- kind of like the zombies at the Dallas Observer Music Award Showcase. And there will be many opportunities to get out and about this week ... More >>

Neon Indian Releases Bonus Mixtape With Copies of Deluxe Vinyl Verson of Era Extraña

Mike BrooksNeon Indian at Granada Theater last month​If you're a big enough Neon Indian to have ordered the deluxe vinyl version of their newest album, Era Extraña, then you've probably had a lot of fun playing with the PAL 198X (a mini synthesizer created by Neon Indian singer Alan Palomo in tan ... More >>

Star Slinger, Mux Mool, Shigeto

Thursday, October 13,at House of Blues' Cambridge Room

Kid Cudi, Chip Tha Ripper

Sunday, July 17, at Verizon Theatrein Grand Prairie.

Before He Celebrates 17 Years of Hosting The Adventure Club, Josh Venable Looks At Its Past

Josh Venable​Halfway through our talk with KDGE-102.1 FM The Edge radio host Josh Venable, he excuses himself from the conversation."Hold on for one second, I've got to do a break real fast," he says, before pausing to clear his throat as the last notes of Jane's Addiction's "Jane Says" play in th ... More >>

Eric Pulido, Midlake Guitarist and Jack of All Trades, Formally Takes on Public Speaking

Eric Pulido​Anyone who has ever seen Midlake in concert knows that guitarist and harmony-man Eric Pulido is a pretty funny guy. In fact, at some shows, he lightens the mood by working what seems like a miniature stand-up routine into the set. So it's safe to say that he's earned the role as the ba ... More >>

This Week In Dallas Music History: Lift to Experience Finds Its Way Along The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads

The album artwork for Pearson's upcoming solo debut.​In this edition of This Week In Dallas Music History, we turn the page back to 2001, when former Observer writer Russell Lyday chronicled the rise of Lift To Experience. When the story was written, the band was about a year removed from its care ... More >>

Giveaway: Two Pairs of Tickets to See Blonde Redhead at Granada Theater Tonight

New York's Blonde Redhead is fresh off the release of their eighth studio album, Penny Sparkle, which sees the band forging ahead into new musical territory, and passing through Dallas at the Granada Theater tonight. And while the new album has been compared to Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine and ... More >>

Blonde Redhead change their stripes once again.

Beach House Grows Into A Teen Dream

Mr. Gnome is Tough to Describe -Just the Way the Band Likes It

Last Night: Black Moth Super Rainbow, School of Seven Bells and Darktown Strutters at Hailey's

Black Moth Super Rainbow, School of Seven Bells, Darktown StruttersHailey's Club, DentonJune 3, 2009Better Than: Sulking at home last night while poking around on Craigslist and eBay for those Animal Collective tickets you should've bought months ago... Paul HeartfieldSchool of Seven BellsTurns out ... More >>

Little Black Dress

Snow in June (Exploding Plastic/Idol)

Exploding Plastic Prepares First Release: Little Black Dress

Exploding Plastic Records, the new Idol Records art-pop imprint, is almost ready to go with its first release, Little Black Dress' Snow In June, which is set for a May 5 release.You may recognize a few members of Little Black Dress' lineup--namely frontman Toby Pipes, also of Deep Blue Something, wh ... More >>

Echoes and Reverberations: Our Radio Heads Are Waxing Nostalgic

The staff of the Zoo, as seen on Liles' bedroom wall poster.I was twelve years old and up way past my bedtime. The headphones were on and I was hiding underneath the blankets. The stereo was tuned to a Dallas radio station called "The Zoo". A DJ named JD was playing a track from The Beatles' W ... More >>

Explosive Plastic Records, The New Sub-Label From Idol Records, Names Little Black Dress As Its First Signee

Just about a month ago, we first passed along word of the creation of Exploding Plastic Records, the new Idol Records sub-label that plans to focus primarily on putting out records from a more artsy crop of artists than Idol normally backs. And, today, the label has confirmed what sub-label head Dy ... More >>

Torche Tries a Slow Burn

The Florida metal act takes the generic element out of its metal

Shoe Strung

A Place To Bury Strangers isn't shoegaze. Or is it?

Would Morrissey Approve of Bands Like Girl in a Coma Who Take Their Names From His Songs?

Goldfrapp

Seventh Tree (Mute)

Guiding Big D's Sonic Pilgrims

Enough with the turkeys, now for a little locally baked dessert

Celebration, Fog, Dragons of Zynth

Saturday, November 3, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Denton

Welcome

Sirs (Fat Cat)

Turns Out, It's Not Hard Out Here For a Pimp. But Only If You Were a Latin Pimp.

Mew

And the Glass Handed Kites (Sony)

Odds & Ends

The Golden Falcons are reeling after their encounter with a super trooper

Trials

After a tour with the Flaming Lips, loads of hype and an amazing new record, the only thing Midlake's missing is confidence

Skin Crawls

Gregg Araki's latest is more icky than mysterious

Following Suit

When record labels finally pay attention to Dallas, they usually likewhat they see

Beauty and the Beat

Aria ready for Renée Fleming?

Broadcast

Hahasound (Warp)

Making Waves

Denton's Midlake inks record deal, prepares debut LP

Scene, Heard

Local bands release a few more albums this week -- though not necessarily in the U.S.

Scene, Heard

Dallas-Denton-Forth Worth bands make their biggest impact yet at SXSW

Waiting to Hit

Lift to Experience finds its way at The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads

Doves

Lost Soul (Astralwerks)

Hijinks at Trees

Long-overdue debuts

Scene, heard

Conspiracy theories; Bella Union strikes; a Wreck of a Room; X marks the spot

Northern devils

Did local bands make good at South By Southwest?

Mind games

Kim Deal puts her rock together all wrong, all right?

Big drummer boy

Funland's Will Johnson steps out from behind the kit

Under the covers

How could Duran Duran make a comeback when it never went away?

Dour times

Portishead creates a sad poetic sound that separates dreams from reality

The language of lite

Everything But the Girl's Ben Watt laments the duo's adult alternative fate