One of these dudes is the touring guitarist for Dashboard Confessional. How kooky is that? Not as kooky as the jams you’re gonna find on this record! The two boys in Ratatat go their own way, and that way involves crafting pointillist instrumental compositions out of–crap, what don’t they use–guitars,…
The fourth release from Danish alt-pop stars Mew seems ripe for success in an American market currently embracing Coldplay/Keane epics (and their indie flipside, slacker lullabies by the Shins and Rogue Wave). And the Glass Handed Kites opener “Circuitry of the Wolf” comes churning out with stuttered strums, spooky piano…
Sure, one can call Hem traditionalists, with their seemingly soul-mate marriage of loamy folk and country roots with a cinematic chamber music sensibility. But within the roar and crackle of much of today’s modern music, Hem has forged a genuine alternative that sounds like no one else, save perhaps for…
New England’s Unearth stands distinct from the new wave of generic modern metal. Renowned for its live show, the neo-thrash quintet swirls shoulder-length mop tops, burning more calories than your average emo kid consumes in a year. Warming the stage for Slipknot last year, Unearth gave the nine-man metal machine…
Put together by music industry biggies Gary Kurfirst (Talking Heads, Jane’s Addiction, The Ramones) and Chris Blackwell (Bob Marley, U2), Musica Fresca is a Latin fusion showcase with Grammy-nominated hip-hop duo Akwid (hip-hop), New York Latin/funksters Yerba Buena, reggaeton artist Voltio and Santana faves and Latin rockers Radio Mundial. The…
Marvin Gaye’s awed and fearful three-word question is perhaps the most natural reaction to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. As we watched a city drown and empty out and now, perhaps, wither and die, we couldn’t nor can we help but ask, as Gaye did when confronted with all the…
San Francisco’s über-punk trio Coachwhips is no more, but it knew enough to cap its career with the proverbial bang. Coachwhips approaches rock ‘n’ roll without any false notions of “sophistication” or “professionalism.” If you’ve ever liked the Cramps or the Fall but thought they were just too slick or…
Keb’ Mo’ will play the spirit of the blues–literally–in Honeydripper, the next movie by acclaimed director John Sayles. The casting, however, isn’t as perfect as it seems. Press reports describe the flick (Sayles’ first since 2004’s Silver City, which was largely filmed in Denver) as a musical drama focusing on…
What if Leonard Cohen fronted a bluegrass ensemble? Denton’s Pinebox Serenade can give you a pretty good answer, somewhere in the middle of their seven-piece medley featuring, among other things, mandolin, fiddle and cello. Serenade has become a ubiquitous favorite in area dives over the past year or two, their…
It’s easy to brand the entirety of post punk as “played out.” Yet, in its purest form, all it means is truly creative rock with a punkish disregard. This triple shot is as creatively punkish as it gets, headlined by Toronto’s Creeping Nobodies, one of the more in-yer-face products in…
“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…
“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…
Xtina, Paris, Jessica and Beyoncé have all just released records. Are you up to speed on your pop pabulum? 1. A “Freakum Dress” is: a) A song on Beyoncé’s new album b) Something Bill Clinton would just rather forget c) The title of the new Devendra Banhart record d) The…
“Next, please!” For one whole week you get to read my take on Dallas’ music scene. Having lived here for all but a few ill-fated months after high school (no need to discuss those), I have strong beliefs that, like the popularity of skinny jeans, Dallas’ music scene is cyclical…
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…
During the Tex Avery-style bacchanal that is the modern Flaming Lips stage show, there’s always one person who seems unmoved by the proceedings. One stoic individual spends most of the show seated, apparently oblivious to the sights of Wayne Coyne encased in a balloon, to the twin armies of anthropomorphic…
Just as Kinky Friedman the political candidate is often dismissed as a one-liner dispensing novelty, Kinky Friedman the songwriter is usually summarized as a humorist, remembered for such memorable song titles like “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven (and Your Buns in the Bed)” and his signature song “They Ain’t…
Landlords of garage rock The Deadly Snakes may have given up the lease this past August, but thankfully we still have front man André Ethier. With the Snakes, Ethier was known for his swagger, his “I know you know I’m a bad ass” style that resonated in lyrics such as…
“It’s a dream come true, period. ‘Cause I’m sober now…I’ve never been sober, you know.” Chan (pronounced Shaun) Marshall, the artist commonly known as Cat Power, is poolside in Los Angeles awaiting the start of her fall tour, a jaunt that will take her from New York to Mexico City,…
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…
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”…
In a just world, a 23rd anniversary celebration in honor of EZ Eddie D would mark that many years that he’d been the highly paid Arbitron champ in his drive-time slot on a 100,000-watt hip-hop station. But this is Dallas. And for Dallas or anywhere else, lasting 23 years as…
