Sean Kirkpatrick and I are talking at a table at Strangeways, a brick-heavy East Dallas bar with ’80s dance music blaring from a speaker and Smiths posters decorating a wall. The Nervous Curtains singer and keyboardist looks like he might be a fan, but some people are touchy when you…

Interesting that Beck produced both Stephen Malkmus’ latest album, Mirror Traffic, and Thurston Moore’s 2011 LP, Demolished Thoughts. The two guitarists always seemed like eternal teenagers in their respective bands, Pavement and Sonic Youth, shaggy-haired and shred-ready, but maturity has reared its head in 2012. Mirror Traffic finds Malkmus and…

Old School KSOC-FM 94.5 has become my default radio station, which is how I’ve managed to memorize the ad for this show. With the passing of Don Cornelius a few weeks ago, this stellar old-school soul and funk line-up is Dallas’ own memorial of sorts. The O’Jays (“Back Stabbers,” “Love…

The robed ones return from a two-week Southern tour, so this homecoming show should find the Dallas collective in good choral shape. Not only does the Tim DeLaughter-led group have a new song out, they were also just referenced on an episode of Portlandia and will have a song featured…

Are you anxiously awaiting the debut LP from Pinkish Black? The Fort Worth synth and drum duo has been tailoring their dark stretches of synth doom for a couple years now, and it finally looks like Jon Teague and Daron Beck are putting them to wax: “Everything Went Black” just…

I’m relatively new to town, and therefore just absorbing the news of Matthew Gray’s Denton County Proper booking woes. So at first I wasn’t going to even bother with this story, because a lot of other folks already have. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized…

This Valentine’s Day installment of 35 Denton’s latest line-up announcement comes with quite the appropriate video to make you all jangly in the pants. California trio Best Coast has been added, along with Teengirl Fantasy, Typhoon, Millionyoung, Cowboy and Indian, David Ramirez, Pond, the Rassle, American Royalty, Holy Fiction and…

Once again, I have Old School 94.5 to thank for reminding me this song exists. Houston’s own Oran “Juice” Jones apparently put out four albums from 1986-1997, but this song remains his crowning achievement, four and a half minutes of pure emotion. The I-caught-ya vibe of the song reaches its…

Following up their holiday podcast, local hip-hop duo A.Dd+ once again nails it with this Valentine’s Day edition with DJ Sober. They really need to do one of these for every holiday: Arbor Day, Earth Day, Flag Day, etc. However, I realize they’re sort of busy taking over the Texas…

One of the most anticipated shows of the last few months has definitely been Thurston Moore at the Texas Theatre tonight. The Sonic Youth guitarist has been carving out a nice little solo career with last year’s Demolished Thoughts and 2007’s Trees Outside the Academy (I always sort of thought…

Man, people are really excited about Edge Fest. The line-up for 102.1 The Edge’s 22nd annual all-day fest began its steady trickle into the Internet today, with Evanescence, Garbage, Switchfoot, Blue October, Civil Twilight and Neon Trees already announced. They’ll be releasing one band name per hour, so keep up…

I’d never heard of Dallas musician Brandon Hilton, but according to the email I got yesterday, he’s released “over 40 tracks, two full-length albums, eight singles and seven music videos, accumulated over 4.5 million YouTube views, 150,000+ MySpace fans, and 30,000+ Twitter followers.” Hmm, alright. What else? “His hit single…

Looking for love in all the wrong places? Looking for 35 Denton wristbands? If you find yourself clumsily walking behind pretty girls (or chasing a choice piece of man-tail) like the video above, then come out to the Mellow Mushroom on Monday, February 13. 35 Denton and The Indie-Verse have…

The second installment of the Observer and KXT’s monthly Triple Play series goes down next Thursday, February 16. You know the drill, right? Three emerging acts from Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton converge at the Kessler to spin some golden tunes and get on your radar. We posted about Fort…

This week in print, I check in with Sarah Alexander and Nevada Hill, two Denton musicians who host Tiger Dick, a weekly radio show devoted to the unheard and unseen. Dallas Distortion Music chats with Alan Ayo about their first year in business. Kelly Dearmore asks Thee Silver Mt. Zion…

For those who thought Ben Kweller was being cute by releasing a country album that coincided with his move back to Texas in 2009, his latest proves it wasn’t just posturing. The guy can write a good country song, as well as a good pop song, and those two things…

In a cozy house in Denton this particular Tuesday night, conversation runs the gamut from pig’s blood in the Trinity River to being attacked by a nest of water moccasins to religion. Sarah Alexander and Nevada Hill play a snippet of a poem by music writer Byron Coley, which includes…

Austin synth/drum duo Zorch have yet to release a proper album, but last summer’s cassette on experimental label Insect Records showed just how nuanced their sound has become. “Cosmic Gloss” is one of those wonderful rabbit holes where their glitchy samples, soulful vocals and warped beats are always one step…