A collaboration between Lichens and White/Light reads like a great idea on paper. Lichens—former 90 Day Men bassist Robert Lowe—specializes in vocal drones colored with guitar and percussion. White/Light’s twin-guitar doom—a menacing fusion of VU, Earth and Kevin Drumm—should give Lowe’s bubbly atmospherics ground to float over and play the…
“BARK BARK BARK IS BLOWING THE FUCK UP!” screams the big banner on the band’s MySpace page. That may be overstating it, but the band—actually just Arizona’s Jacob Safari plus a rotating crew of assorted friends—should be going places. Bark3’s synth-y oeuvre is like a more friendly Nine Inch Nails—still…
Like many veterans of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, scene, the Comas are as averse to pigeonholing as most non-pigeons are. Indeed, Spells, the outfit’s new disc for the Vagrant imprint, is a veritable variety pack of indie-rock stylings. For instance, the opener, “Red Microphones” is an up-tempo chugger that…
When R&B sensation Andre Williams first reared his magnificently ugly mug back in the late 1950s, his calling cards were a knockout stage show and some of the roughest wide-open numbers the idiom ever had visited upon it. The drawling raps of “Bacon Fat,” “Greasy Chicken” and the poon-fixated classic…
Maybe it’s the mystique: The Frenz, one of local electro-Renaissance-man Wanz Dover’s many ambitious projects, is one of those computer/electronic progenies of Kraftwerk that takes you to another plane. An astral plane? Possibly. More likely, though, upon listening to the Frenz’s intricate blend of beats, blips and bodacious guitar riffs…
As with Contraband, the first Velvet Revolver CD, Libertad is an amalgam of its influences: some good (Guns N’ Roses), others less so (Stone Temple Pilots). Still, the unregenerate retro-ness of the project—and of Slash’s axing in general—will leave those with a taste for cock rock at least temporarily sated…
Those of you hoping that the Smashing Pumpkins’ comeback record is an unmitigated disaster will be disappointed: It’s not. Those of you afraid that lead Pumpkin Billy Corgan made another The Future Embrace (his über-synthpop, somewhat-cheesy solo album) will be happy: He didn’t. With drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the lone member…
If ever there were a band that represented the popular heights and resounding depths of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, it’s Badfinger. Coming together in the early ’70s, the band benefited from its association with the Beatles (Paul McCartney wrote Badfinger’s first hit, “Come and Get It”) and the Apple…
On the mouth: That charming fellow we all know as Cottonmouth Texas is hard at work these days, including recording a mash-up with Los Angeles-based band the Spores. (If you’ve never heard/seen the Spores, think go-go-booted bassist/singer spewing off-kilter vocals with hard—but not exactly metal—guitar behind her. Oh, and puppets.)…
The life of a touring band has got to be glamorous and decadent. Luxurious buses packed to the gills with liquor, drugs and acquiescent groupies, shuttle you from one glittering city to the next. At each destination, flashing cameras and screaming fans greet you as you make your way to…
After years of writing songs for the likes of John Anderson, Randy Travis and Confederate Railroad, Chris Knight is finally getting the accolades he so richly deserves. Growing up in Kentucky, Knight lived in a trailer house and worked for a decade in the coal mines before venturing to Nashville…
These days, modern rock—and by that, we mean straight-ahead bass-drums-guitar—has taken a strange and often irritating turn. A genre that once frightened parents has grown tepid, plagued by hookless guitar work and excruciatingly boring, anthemic, off-key vocals that sound more like Christian rock than the devil’s music. And let’s not…
Sitting across from Jacob Rodriguez, it’s easy to be taken aback by his well-spoken demeanor and baby-faced good charm. Although he plays hip-hop under the name Accomplice and has, in the past, written lyrics as violent and sexist as just about any rapper, Rodriguez comes across as a likable softie…
It’s about midnight on a Saturday night at the Monkey Bar, and I find myself rather confused. It’s a few beers into the evening, so colors are blurring and edges are bending at odd angles, but, though my wits are softened, they are still about me. It is not the…
If these local punks had a bit more chutzpah they would have covered the Psychedelic Furs’ song they poke fun at with the title track of this terrific EP. As is, this potent trio has all the things that make for a good punk experience: loud, bracing guitars, a significantly…
If he hadn’t choked to death in London’s Samarkand Hotel 37 years ago, how many mediocre records would Jimi Hendrix have dropped by now? Stevie…the Stones…Sir Paul…they’re all way past the point where any residual genius is still expected. Since at least The Gold Experience more than a decade back,…
Obsessed with a found trashed white piano, decidedly quirky and channeling everything from ’80s pop to Modest Mouse, Bishop Allen is a band chasing after the heart of every scenester from here to Williamsburg. The group, consisting of permanent members Christian Rudder and Justin Rice and a rotating cast of…
It’s a shame, but it seems most piano-men end up behind the scenes and known only to those who obsessively read liner notes. Though not known by the common fan, Ian McLagan has played keyboards on some legendary records by the Stones, Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and others…
DJ/producer Tiësto first came to prominence with “Traffic” and solidified his reputation with his remix of Delerium’s “Silence,” a track that enjoyed considerable crossover success and radio airplay. Since then, Tiësto has branched out from his trance roots to incorporate elements of house and techno into his productions and DJ…
The brief untitled debut EP from Syracuse, New York’s Ra Ra Riot is but a six-song launch pad, but the band impresses memorably, with strong undercurrents and spirited, intricate arrangements. Two string players cushion surges of energy on this disc, and singer Wes Miles pushes almost too many thoughts into…
Moral dilemma: What do you do when one of the bands performing at your newspaper’s very own showcase proves disappointing, and you feel compelled to write about it? Compelled, not because you want to be an asshole or because you maintain some inner drive to take on Dallas’ sacred cows,…
Boi Howdy: Rapper Countri Boi, who was born in Dallas, then moved at the age of 2 weeks to California, then back to Dallas after his folks got worried about his gang lifestyle during his teenage years, has signed to independent label TVT Records. OK, let’s try to figure out…
