California’s the Briefs provide punk rock with just the kind of kick in the ass the genre has needed for so long. With the continued regurgitation of pop/punk of the Green Day variety and the ascension of a seemingly endless parade of faceless emo bands, punk rock has sadly become…
Known as one of the pioneers of minimalism, Steve Reich has been a major influence on neo-classical, jazz, avant-garde, rock and electronic artists for nearly half a century. Much of his seminal work from the ’60s and ’70s had remained woefully out of print until the release of this five-disc…
Mark Linkous is a perfect anomaly, a literate, slightly seedy songwriter whose best work exposes an aching beauty which triumphs over his darker instincts. Over the course of four full-length efforts under the Sparklehorse moniker, released leisurely over the past decade, Linkous has created an uncompromising body of work that…
Fred Eaglesmith performs Saturday, October 21, at the Granada Theater.
Despite the howling of the legions of fans still hanging on to their inebriated memories of the Replacements, ex-Mats leader Paul Westerberg hasn’t made a good solo record since his debut, 14 Songs, way back in 1993. Content to play the recluse, Westerberg has quietly released a whole catalog of…
Resembling an advertisement for vibrant prophylactics, the billboards promoting the Blue Man Group bring to mind either a colorful way to promote birth control or some kind of sadistic cult gone horribly awry. But according to one current member of the performance art attraction, there is something fundamentally philosophical about…
Just back from a mini-tour that included a stop at the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati, Fort Worth’s the Cut*off is back in the studio, recording the follow-up to their excellent Rorschach EP. The new recording sessions, helmed by (who else) Salim Nourallah, should offer more of the amiable grunge/alt-rock…
Recycling AC/DC riffs has not proven as popular as it was in the ’80s and ’90s, as many contemporary metal heads have chosen double snare drum deviltry (along with Cookie Monster meets Beelzebub vocalizing) as the path toward the darker side. Los Angeles’ Buckcherry happily go against that trend, embracing…
On hiatus for the past couple of years, local wild man Lyle Steadham has decided to resurrect Ghoultown, his metal/psychobilly labor of love. Bury Them Deep, the ironically titled recent effort, features new drummer Rob Schumacher (Slick 57, Riverboat Gamblers) but doesn’t divert significantly from the Misfits/Cramps shockabilly that the…
“Sports is the modern version of slavery,” says Denton-based singer Daniel Folmer, as he watches the Cowboys/Jaguars game at an eatery in North Dallas. “I mean, look at football–there’s an owner, and the players run around on a field with chains on it,” says Folmer. The 21-year-old songwriter has just…
Houston native and Dallas resident Travis Hopper has all the right intentions and influences on this sparse and sloppy alt-country debut. All the Lights features 10 takes on the standard theme of boy loses girl, boy drinks, boy ends up feeling worse. While a bit too earnest in spots, Hopper’s…
At 75, Ike Turner is still one mean motherfucker. Risin’ With the Blues, his first release of new material in three years, is as tough and weathered as the man himself, full of searing guitar work and his ever-prevalent tough-guy persona. Mixing half a dozen quality originals (including the signature…
Hailing from Finland, Husky Rescue is a deliciously arty collision of folk and electronica that is masterminded by Marko Nyberg. Country Falls, the nifty debut, was recorded by Nyberg with the help of 20 musicians and singers and finally saw stateside release in 2005. Songs such as “Sweet Little Kitten”…
Though John Schmersal, the mercurial leader of Enon, has never been that interested in regular melodies, he has led this pesky quartet to calmer waters over the last half-decade. Last year’s odds and sods compilation, Lost Marbles and Exploded Evidence, is probably the band’s most coherent statement of purpose, as…
Recorded a year ago, this is Jarrett’s 13th solo recording and the latest chapter in a sustained volume of prominence that began in 1971 with Facing You but that was cemented with 1975’s The Köln Concert. Although internationally famous because of his solo material, Jarrett was a child prodigy who…
“Seattle is America’s Copenhagen,” says John Roderick, ringleader of The Long Winters, one of America’s finest purveyors of angular and melancholy pop. Putting the Days to Bed, the latest collection of Roderick’s depressed metaphors, is a stunning statement of artistic purpose. Full of emotional epics packed into three-minute structures, the…
“I don’t want to become a terminally local band,” says Nick Nowell, guitarist and front man for Thorn vs. Side, one of the area’s freshest mixes of punk, pop and metal. The band has been together two years, honing their skills in a Denton garage while trying to perfect their…
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Dave Barnes excels at a funky take on light rock that recalls both John Mayer and Dave Matthews. His recent effort, Chasing Mississippi, is friendly pop/soul that’s guaranteed to annoy critics and thrill his growing number of (mostly female) admirers. Aided by Amy Grant and her husband Vince…
Rotund rapscallion Dave Thomas (not the Wendy’s guy) continues Pere Ubu nearly three decades after he first set this pioneering avant-punk group in motion. Unlike any other band that has continued, in some form or another, for such a lengthy period, Pere Ubu has yet to cough up a bad…
Although well-known for their remixes (Gustavo Santalaoralla’s “Wings,” the theme from Brokeback Mountain), San Francisco DJs Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden have elevated their skills beyond the trendy and sweaty club scene with their eponymous debut. Alternating male and female vocals helps balance the effort as Gabriel and Dresden build…
“Life’s Little Ups and Downs,” a song made famous by Charlie Rich but actually written by his wife, Margaret, perfectly encapsulates the working class experience. It’s a song so closely associated with Rich that very few have covered it. Yet the song serves as the centerpiece of What’s Wrong With…
Hailing from Long Island, this photogenic four-piece infuses its brand of emo with a modest British influence as well as a rewarding hint of ’70s album rock. Touring in support of their appealing self-titled sophomore effort, ATAL’s line-up has finally settled after losing two members last year. Vocalist Dan Nigro…
