Everything I know about St. Vincent–which consists of Annie Clark doing everything save for drumming, which is handled by Brian Teasley–comes courtesy the Polyphonic Spree’r’s MySpace page, where four songs are available for streaming (and dreaming about, alas). That Clark is not better known (where, may I ask those who…
Jocks used to beat the crap out of skaters. Now they’re one in the same, and nowhere is the unholy union of jock bravado and anti-establishment angst more apparent (not to mention highly marketable) than at the Vans Warped Tour. Now more than 10 years old, the annual extreme sport…
It’s tough enough for a band to hail from New Orleans these days, but getting stuck with a Sunday night slot at an out-of-town venue during Independence Day weekend plain blows. Then again, I could extend a pity party to just about any band–Quintron and Miss Pussycat get love for…
Let’s talk about the South: It’s where country music leapt into sweet miscegenation with the blues and had a kickin ‘n’ howlin’ little brat called rock ‘n’ roll. Some 10 years later the Brits reprocessed it and sold it back to the next young Stateside generation. The Black Crowes stand…
It was almost 20 years ago when a young Edie Brickell and New Bohemians got its first bewildering taste of success. “What I Am,” the lead single from Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, resonated almost immediately with an audience bored with repetitive synthesizers and formulaic radio. That track, fueled by…
“Whatever, man. No problem.” Despite a publicist’s snafu concerning time zones that left him waiting hours for a phone call, Ben Bridwell is relaxed, true to his easygoing and affable reputation. The lead singer of Band of Horses is en route with the rest of his band to Ohio after…
“I have the emo bangs,” laughs Donnie DeBoer, pulling his lengthy locks away from his face. The singer and main songwriter for local rockers Auto Escape smiles mischievously as he makes fun of the genre in which he plies his own craft–though he’s the first (and loudest) to disagree with…
If you think this week’s cover feature is an end-all, comprehensive look at Dallas music Web sites, you’re mistaken. “Plugged In” focuses on only three major bloggers; the people behind Gorilla vs. Bear, We Shot JR and Texas Gigs are certainly worth the attention, but what good is a piece…
Best cow in town: “That is fucking outrageous,” Salim Nourallah told us over the phone on Monday. “I hate those fuckers.” The 2006 Dallas Observer Music Award winner seldom gets so angry, so what’s irritated this soft-spoken father? Why, the Curtain Club/Liquid Lounge/Club Clearview complex. A few weeks ago, we…
Country music has always found room for both the shitkicker and the guy who falls in shit. Even Buck Owens and Roy Clark suffered through the cornpone of Hee Haw and actually made a haul poking fun at rural folk. Walking that line between humor and oafishness hasn’t proved easy,…
On their eponymous debut, the Futureheads played like there was no future. Everything they had they threw into that recording studio and, as a result, the album is proof of the dangers of indie-mod excess, artsy punks with a clever sense of humor and elaborate four-part harmonies run amok. Maybe…
The two new songs are as forgettable as they are just fine; “Message to the Boys” (docked for debuting on Jim Rhome’s “show”) and “Pool and Dive” neither celebrate nor tarnish the lovable losers’ legacy, and as much as the fan wants to cheer the reunion that really wasn’t (Chris…
Jim O’Rourke–the producer and fifth member partially responsible for the blissed-out, borderline jam-band approach of Murray Street and Sonic Nurse–is out of the Sonic Youth picture now, and Rather Ripped acknowledges his departure in a bewildering way. The sprawl’s been contained, and in the absence of their recent works’ breathing…
Everybody in Dallas, give it up for Callithump Productions. In its short lifespan, the local booking upstart has quickly grown from aimless infant to badass teen, and this Callithump showcase proves it by proudly showcasing two of the area’s most outstanding new acts. Teenage Symphony steals its name from Brian…
Bay Area musical bard Jesse DeNatale delivers one of the most delicious–and rare–surprises for music buffs: the chance to hear a new, distinctive voice and set of songs that nonetheless feel utterly familiar on first listen. Or, in short, a genuine emerging talent. Quick (and highly favorable) references would be…
On their two studio albums, these Massachusetts indie dudes show off the instrumental chops they honed at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. The knotty, densely composed songs on last year’s self-titled disc shapeshift, Frank Zappa-style, moving from tightly wound surf-punk to delicate post-Zombies guitar-pop to shaggy West Coast folk-rock with…
This New Jersey native first emerged in the early ’00s as part of the post-David Gray pack of male singer-songwriters eager to set their sensitive-dude pain to the timeless sound of strummed acoustic guitars. Pop’s moved on to less earnest fare since then, but Yorn’s still worth hearing, thanks to…
Londoners Will Kennard and Saul Milton spent their snotty, late teenage years tagging bridges with the moniker “Chase and Status.” Luckily for dance fans, they traded their graffiti for gyrating hips in 1996. Renowned in dance clubs across Europe for their rumbling drum ‘n’ bass remixes and use of classic…
These days, being French doesn’t provide the advantages it once could. Riots in Paris, political scandals, “Freedom Fries” and, hell, even Lance Armstrong are parts of the recent anti-Franco backlash, but DJ/Mixer/Producer Franck Roger wants to change some of these perceptions. In the late ’90s, Roger was part of hip-hop…
With the MySpace revolution under way, an MP3 can land a record deal, but touring remains rock’s baptism by fire. It can make you an alcoholic, wreck your voice, dull your talent and, in the grip of extreme boredom, inspire some pretty odd schemes. For a solid year after 2004’s…
“At the time I was as depressed as Nick Drake,” singer-songwriter Richard Swift says about the recording of Walking Without Effort, the dark half of his dual 2005 release (along with The Novelist). Speaking from San Francisco at the beginning of his latest tour, Swift is anxious to talk about…
It takes a rare performer to overcome the drawbacks of playing Grand Prairie’s Nokia Theatre. The jumbo cineplex seating removes the audience from the performers like med-school freshmen from a surgery demonstration, and the fact that few can afford a legal buzz on $8 beers after shelling out $12 for…
