Is there a hidden swampland in Denton from which country-loving musicians sprout out of the murky water with banjo already in hand to rock out under the moonlight? Doubtful, but Spitfire Tumbleweeds make a case for such a Weekly World News-worthy scenario with their impressive debut record, King James Version…
Bay area DJ Lorin Bassnectar appreciates the subtle dynamics inherent in the best trip-hop. Unafraid to stray from the incessant disco thud that characterizes many purveyors of late night, ecstasy-driven cyber-boogie, Bassnectar’s grooves vary from conventional, melodic pop to hip-hop, reggae and classic, bass-filled beats. Wisely taking cues from the…
When fans and critics alike prepare their year-end best-of lists, they often overlook the music that made ears swoon earlier in the year. Good thing South San Gabriel is putting on a show to remind us how good April’s The Carlton Chronicles was. The cast of Centro-matic, boosted with additional…
This five-piece ensemble has its roots in Austin, but the local scene is no stranger to their brand of off-kilter, almost ambient country. After releasing two well-received but poorly distributed albums, the band came of age with this year’s The Blacklight Trap. Approaching country in the same way as Neil…
You already know plenty about the headliners, and those bands’ energy-packed live shows live up to their chart-topping reputations. But don’t be a simp and show up late, because Toronto duo Death From Above 1979 delivers a bigger blast with only a bass guitar and drum kit than most full…
It has been argued that without the Silos, there wouldn’t be an alt-country movement. So great is the admiration for their 1987 masterwork Cuba that many have forgotten that founder Walter Salas-Humera has kept some form of the band going for almost two decades. Sadly relegated to cult status, the…
If respect was platinum and creativity diamonds, San Francisco’s Lyrics Born would be iced out like a Master P video shoot. Instead, the underground rapper continues to hustle just as hard as he did more than a decade ago when he formed hip-hop collective Solesides (later to be known as…
To the uninitiated, Lower Greenville’s The Cavern would have looked like a comic book convention or a World of Warcraft guild meeting early Sunday evening. About two dozen men (and a few girlfriends) were milling around dressed in slacker attire (jeans and nerdy T-shirts, some covered with videogame logos, others…
In 2002, Broken Social Scene didn’t have much to prove. Most members of the Toronto collective were already playing in other Canadian indie bands (Stars, Metric, Do Make Say Think), and because they were a ragtag group of relative musical unknowns, their second album was likely to be as forgotten…
If 2003’s It Still Moves was the album that showed why My Morning Jacket was ready to play stadiums, Z is the one that proves they deserve lasers and smoke machines. While the band’s music has always walked a fine line between twang and space-rock, Z sees them stretching out…
As much an art school collective as a proper group, the five New Yorkers who make up The Occasion create some of the quietest racket imaginable. Obvious connections with the more restrained efforts of the Velvet Underground and Ummagumma-era Pink Floyd are made clear on tracks such as the subtly…
On the second day of the North Texas New Music Festival, the Burden Brothers got off to an early start–in fact, the sun was still out during their outdoor performance at the fest’s marquee stage. Presumably, the headliners’ opening gig was meant to lure crowds with someone they’ve heard and…
Wolf Eyes is the sound of mangled electronics past the point of repair: crackling, rumbling and smoking wires spewing noxious odes to decay, repressed emotions and the inhuman condition. No wonder Sub Pop was so eager to snatch them up! Last year’s Burned Mind was probably the most adventurous release…
When Conway Twitty sang, “Don’t call him a cowboy till you’ve seen him ride,” we took it to heart. So it is with some reluctance that we recommend a Cowboy Troy performance. The rapping hick-hop artist dresses the part, for sure. (On tour with Tim McGraw last year, the two…
If you’re looking for proof that electronica can result in more than sterile, repetitive loops, then consider driving to Denton to see British producer Kieran Hedben in concert. When he’s not playing as part of post-rock band Fridge, the Brit earns critical praise with ambitious solo albums as alter ego…
Last week, I predicted a mob at the Cavern when Chicago’s Fruit Bats played the small venue, but the crowd wound up being small and quaint, and singer Eric Johnson jokingly scolded me–onstage, no less–for publicizing the show as something too difficult to get into. My bad. So here, only…
Come celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Acid Mothers Temple! Wait, what the bejeezus is the Acid Mothers Temple? It’s an old-school psychedelic rock collective from Japan led by extreme cosmic shredder Kawabata Makoto. And if things couldn’t get weirder, Acid Mothers Temple and the Cosmic Inferno is the collective’s…
In 2001, local country band The Lucky Pierres was hired to play weekends at the State Fair of Texas. Bassist Bart Chaney kept a diary, which he recently rediscovered and sent excerpts from to the Observer. Somehow, in spite of this tale, the band is still going strong at the…
Yeah Yeah Yeahs It doesn’t get more “indie” than the self-released success of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Want to challenge a music writer? Then request an accurate portrayal of the musical bounty that is Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The Brooklyn rock quintet’s output begs for description by way…
Compared with the well-publicized debacle of the pay-to-play Dallas Music Festival earlier this year, the North Texas New Music Festival is a far superior source of live local tunes. Its intentions certainly are much nobler, as ticket prices are low (free for early birds, even), bands don’t pay to participate…
LAN party: If you attend Laptop Deathmatch at The Cavern on Sunday, October 9, don’t be misled by the title. Anyone who brings joysticks or copies of Counter-Strike to the monthly musical competition will be sorely disappointed. So what exactly is it? Organizer, judge and Mazinga Phaser II member Mwanza…
Ryan Adams wants you back. He knows you only liked about seven songs on Rock N Roll and Love Is Hell, and he’s decided to spend all of 2005 making it up to you. May’s double disc Cold Roses was a flawed but refreshing apology, and on Jacksonville City Nights,…
