With what looks to be the entire Observer music staff getting wasted on vacation tirelessly covering the SXSW Music Conference, it looks as if recommending a few of this weekend’s metroplex shows falls to this weary critic. Well, in this week’s print edition, Pete, Jesse and others did a hell of…

If there is a good side to the term “corporate rock,” local quartet Inner Frequency may have claims to such a region. Singer Cara Young and the rest of the band look marvelous; the hair is perfectly disheveled as each member does his/her best to look seriously contemplative. Yep, Inner…

Stardeath & White Drawfs is a single entity, an experimental rock band from Norman, Oklahoma. And, led by singer Dennis Coyne (nephew of Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips) Stardeath serves as this evening’s headliner. But the real attraction (at least for me) is Wintersleep.Hailing from Nova Scotia,…

Gotta love that SXSW backwash that brings so many quality bands into our region. Three of these make their way to City Tavern tonight in a show that offers, besides some great music, an odd animal motif.Twin Tigers, Sleepy Horses and Gift Horse all hail from Georgia and all three…

Bravo Max is a very recent entry on the Dallas music scene. Consisting of Johnny Beauford, Daniel Beauford, Steve Vanderheide and Ben Gastright, the quartet is just now getting out of the rehearsal space and hitting the area clubs.Bassist (and former CD Source employee) Ben Gastright was nice enough to…

EpiTas is a relatively new local quartet that quietly released its debut, self-titled full-length last summer. And “quietly” is the operative term there–EpiTas’ music is pretty mellow stuff. Which is kinda weird, actually, since the band’s name supposedly comes from the Greek phrase “I tan I epi tas” which means…

Last night, it was the blues with Pop Carter. So tonight I thought I’d recommend some jazz. And I’m not talking about some lame ass “jazz lite” a la Kenny G. I’m talking about the soulful, funky kind of jazz. The mind-bending, shape-shifting kind of jazz. The stuff that flows…

Keegan McInroe is the leader of local southern rock outfit Catfish Whiskey. But he’s also a budding solo artist: McInroe’s debut solo effort, Mozelle, hits the streets this week. Here’s a quick preview of said album in the form of “The Yank.”Bonus MP3: Very Dylanesque if you ask me; and…

The Denton music scene certainly has its share of indie rock darlings, but not many would expect a prog metal band like Trebuchet to hail from the northern reaches of the Metroplex. Yet hail this quintet does–and best of all, they’re actually pretty good. And, this Friday at Hailey’s, Trebuchet–named…

Most of the time with guitar players, you either get the shredder or the songwriter. Either the guy (or gal) dances up the fretboard with little care for melody or he constructs perfect pop creations that are rarely technically dazzling. With Richard Thompson, you get both.The legendary British singer/songwriter/guitarist plays…

Of all the genres and subgenres of music, I never expected that psychobilly–the frighteningly fitful combination of punk and rockabilly–would have such a protracted shelf life. But, somehow, a seemingly endless supply of disaffected youth continue to worship at the dual alters of horror movies and hardcore punk.Ontario’s The Creepshow…

Those looking for a way to start the weekend early–especially those with a proclivity for Americana–can do so at a variety of local establishments tonight.Aside from the much-heralded Lucinda Williams kicking up her heels at the House of Blues this evening, you can also catch Austinite Jason Allen at Poor…

At first, it’s the slow and lazy Louisiana drawl that sets the mood. Then, it’s the way country legend Lucinda Williams earnestly asks you about your family—y’know, the one she’s never met. Talking with Lucinda Williams is like talking with your older sister, except Time magazine never named your older…

Arlington-based singer/songwriter Jessie Frye has been seeing all these lists of Dallas area bands who are playing this year’s South by Southwest Festival and she wants folks to know she’s heading south as well. “I think I am the only artist that is invited who is from Arlington,” says Frye…

Due to the inclement weather last night, I was one of the many people who didn’t get to catch Devotchka at the House of Blues. So, yeah, I’m suffering a bit from post-NPR-favorite-withdrawal disorder, a complicated ailment characterized by a lack of sufficiently arty and critically acclaimed music.To rectify this…