Music

It’s been almost five years since dance-rock band Franz Ferdinand played its great first show in Dallas. At that time, the band appeared a distillation of smart, arty new wave bands of an earlier era (think lyrics like Elvis Costello, energy like The Clash, glamour like Duran Duran). Its live…

Although The Kills’ Alison Mosshart has been getting loads of attention of late as the frontwoman for the new Jack White side project The Dead Weather, her full-time gig shouldn’t be overlooked: The Kills released its third album last year to much critical praise, then followed it up with stunning…

When a band releases six albums in 10 years and fills the gaps with seemingly endless touring, at some point the quality inevitably suffers. So it’s fortunate that this year’s Wrath is actually a step up from Lamb of God’s two previous offerings. After exploring the personal issues of frontman…

Earnest, but not earnest like a mall emo band, and punk rock, but edgier than mall punk bands, The Gaslight Anthem, which also throws a heavy dosage of Springsteen into the mix, goes far beyond most Warped Tour attendees’ grasps. Touring the nation on the strength of its 2008 breakout…

Few acts among the crowded local mall-pop scene are as sonically promising as The Secret Handshake. Luis Dubuc’s songs are bouncy, light, danceable affairs, simple and predictable almost to a fault, and unapologetically influenced by nostalgia for ’90s Top 40 pop tunes. His home-production skills are quite impressive too: My…

Jonny Bell has a gullet-shredding yell that’d fit in just fine with your average hardcore outfit. But his band’s music makes it tough to imagine the guy performing anywhere near studded belts or shitty rock-club bathrooms. No, when listening to Tentacles, the debut full-length from Crystal Antlers, you envision stranger…

Robert Jason Vandygriff loves Dallas. So much so, in fact, that the guitarist/vocalist of local country punk trio The Von Ehrics named his band not so much to pay honor to the legendary wrestling family that was recently inducted in its chosen sport’s hall of fame, but, rather, it was…

A couple of years ago, Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell described Dr. Dog to the New York Times thusly: “It’s fun, happy music, good for partying at barbecues or playing hacky sack.” Indeed, the group’s rollicking music feels like warm sun on your face and sand against your feet…

Among the first original songs penned by Black Kids frontman Reggie Youngblood were birthday tributes meant to impress girls who’d gotten a rise out of him, so to speak—but, he admits with a laugh, “that method has never worked for me” when it comes to hooking up. So why did…

Things were pretty damn close to turning ugly at the Granada Theater last Tuesday night. (Well, as ugly as a crowd of gussied-up hipsters dressed in their American Apparel finest can get, anyway.) At 10 o’clock, some three hours after the doors were supposed to open to a performance from…

Plenty of rock bands have gimmicks, attention-grabbing quirks, devices, antics or personas that help set the band apart. Other bands make it on the laurels of their own talents and personalities. Denton-based surf-punk band Bleach Boys rides a narrow wave between the two. The band doesn’t wear costumes or face…

Has any voice been done worse by production than Bob Mould’s? In retrospect, the best thing about his 2005 return to guitar rock after an electronica sidebar was the Auto-Tune exception so many fans originally hated, “(Shine Your) Light Love Hope,” which abstracted his unique pipes into an instrument of…

Alternative bands hailing out of Chicago always seem to be high on the weird factor and less inclined towards melody. Bands like the recently disbanded Chin Up Chin Up and Joan of Arc are two that quickly come to mind.The trio known as Caw Caw certainly doesn’t fall far from…

This week, Matthew Gray and the rest of Matthew and the Arrogant Sea are heading into the studio (with Midlake’s McKenzie Smith) to record a “five or six song” EP to follow up last year’s excellent Family Family Family Meets The Magic Christian. And, after the band finishes the EP,…

Chris Vivion, the tall bassist of PVC Street Gang–you know the guy with the flowing mane of hair–has graciously provided a track from the band’s soon-to-be-released, debut EP for your listening pleasure. Check out “Secret Society” after the jump…..

Pikahsso & Tahiti of AwkQuarius made the most of the woodland setting last night at the Lodge for their bit as the warm-up act for comedian Paul Mooney.Mooney was in town to film a Showtime special, and we’ve got shots of the act in this slideshow. With appearances from a…

DJ, producer and remix artist extraordinaire Josh Wink spun at Plush on Saturday night, and drew a big crowd out for a nightcap to their Record Store Day celebrations.Along with scenes from DJ Keith P’s set Friday night at the Cavern, check out all the Lek Brothers’ shots in this…

Sooner or later, we’ll probably stop referring to The Orbans as the band formerly known as The Lifters. The above video, shot by Jon Collins’ crew The Apparat (the same people that brought you Doug Burr’s excellent “Should’ve Known” video), should help us get there. Great stuff form Collins, as…