Music

In this week’s print edition of DC9, Observer contributor Doug Davis had this much to say about tonight’s show with The Thermals at The Loft:The Thermals are a Portland-based trio (they’ve gone through a troop of drummers) that retains the energy and anger of punk and grunge that famously flowed…

The Thermals are a Portland-based trio (they’ve gone through a troop of drummers) that retains the energy and anger of punk and grunge that famously flowed out of the Northwest in years past. Frontman Hutch Harris has always written intelligent lyrics that tackle big issues of sexual tension, mortality and…

The Granada showcases a trio of excellent Texas bands that bring shoe-gazing—leavened with fun—to the stage for a promising Saturday night. Opening is Ume, an alt-rock power trio fronted by dynamic Laura Larsen on guitars and vocals that reminds of a cross between Autolux and Silversun Pickups but with less…

It’s no surprise that The Virgins have become New York City’s latest candidate for musical celebrity. Fashion-wise, leader Donald Cumming and his mates bridge the gap between scruffy and glammy in a manner that’s apt to entrance Drew Barrymore, and while the band’s self-titled 2008 debut rocks, sort of, it…

Having fought a prescription pill addiction and mourned his murdered friend Proof, Eminem has chosen new album Relapse as his therapy. Whereas he played his last work, Encore, largely for laughs, Relapse is an oft-shocking plunder of the depths of his psyche and his imagination. “My Mom” explores the genetic…

On his seventh full-length, indie-rock nice guy John Vanderslice switches labels from longtime home at Barsuk to the Austin-based Secretly Canadian imprint Dead Oceans, presumably to avoid complacency. But when has Vanderslice phoned in anything? Although these dozen songs impose a new, accelerated-tempo brevity, the cumulative effect is still very…

The second album from Fort Worth’s 100 Damned Guns starts off right where you would expect, with a honky-tonk love song about lost love, which is the sound that fits the band best. Indeed, Musica de Tormento continues the band’s mixture of honky-tonk-meets-bluegrass rave-ups and your standard, classic-sounding, heartstring-pulling songs…

Making music out of pure love of the art form is one way to go about building band notoriety. But according to Richard Edwards, lead singer and guitarist for indie-poppers Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, his band is in the industry solely for the money. As Edwards puts…

A virus is currently spreading among today’s young people. If left unchecked, it could have the far-­reaching effect of rendering an entire generation between ages 20 and 40 culturally stagnant. It can’t be prevented with a face mask—although earplugs would be a step in the right direction—but what’s most tragic…

There was a packed house at the Prophet Bar last Wednesday night for the coolest weekly gig that most of the city still remains clueless about. I mean, sure, it was a pseudo celebration of R.C. Williams’ birthday—he turned 32 this past weekend, so there was an air of “special…

J. Paul Slavens holds his stoic composure as he takes a seat behind his Casio keyboard for his weekly residency at Dan’s Sliverleaf. After taking a nip from his whiskey and water on the rocks, Slavens leans closer to the microphone and starts crunching. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. The slow, rumbling…

Joel Styzens was a serious professional drummer and percussionist, practicing three to four hours a day and playing three to four hours a night at gigs. He did this six or sometimes seven nights a week with big jazz bands and percussion ensembles—until one morning, three years and four months…

Last week, San Francisco experimental folk rock duo Tartufi rolled through the SPACE studios, kindly agreeing to take part in the most recent round of our video blog experiment, DC9 in SPACE. The band is currently on tour in support of its upcoming Nests of Wave and Wire release for…

It’s a surprisingly busy Wednesday night around the region this evening. Take a look around: There’s Propagandhi’s at The Prophet Bar; the Pitchfork-approved Isis, Pelican and Tombs date at the Granada; the Indigo Girls at the Lakewood — and even the Crystal Method at the House of Blues with L.A…

Say what you will about Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, the duo known as The Indigo Girls. But, fact is, these gals have been doing their folksy thing for nearly a quarter century now. “Closer to Fine,” the Girls’ first hit from 1989 is an easy target of derision, but…

Between the Rec Shop arrests and vigilant tire-clamping outside Minc Lounge, it was a treacherous weekend to be out partying in Dallas.Still, our intrepid nightlife photo team made it to Fallout Lounge for local DJs One & Oneiza and F*ck You Pay Me on Saturday night, and still managed to…