I’m sure even Yann Tiersen is tired of being known as “that guy who did the soundtrack to Amelie.” Beyond that film, the French composer and multi-instrumentalist has a vast catalog that stretches back to the mid-’90s, and his ear for intricately wound sounds permeates his latest album, Skyline, which…
This year marks the 20th year for Richardson’s Wildflower! Art & Music Festival, and lineups from fests past have always offered something from every decade and genre. A couple artists stand out this year: Friday has ’70s funk icons Chic, St. Louis rapper Nelly and Motown legends The Commodores. Saturday’s…
Pour some out for Denton’s revered venue, which is now almost old enough to drive, even though it started smoking and drinking when it was, like, seven. Slobberbone, Chris Flemmons, Dove Hunter, Pinkish Black, Year of the Bear, Occult Detective Club, Akkolyte, Bad Design, Code Talkers and Banos y Banos…
Does it take balls to title your album Balls? Elizabeth Cook has them. The Florida-bred country singer-songwriter’s 2007 Rodney Crowell-produced album even has a song titled “Sometimes It Takes Balls to Be a Woman,” just so you know where she’s coming from. 2010’s Welder got a little more personal, but…
Spiritualized Granada Theater Tuesday, May 15 Life is particularly becoming on Jason Pierce. When Spiritualized took the stage shortly before 9 p.m. at the Granada Theater, Pierce and his two-member gospel “choir” were clothed in pure white, while the rest of the band wore black. Looking remarkably fit and without…
We praised Menkena when their debut album, With You I’ll Travel, came out last year. But the lineup has changed since then, and now features prominent members of The Polyphonic Spree, The Demigs and The Felons. In advance of their free show at The Foundry on Saturday with Fort Worth’s…
Jane’s Addiction, The Duke Spirit McFarlin Auditorium Thursday, May 10 Last night’s show was definitely a situation where the venue didn’t seem right for the band and its audience. Jane’s Addiction put on a great 85-minute performance, but McFarlin Auditorium is not a good venue for a rock show, and…
The most grueling part of American Idiot, the Broadway musical based on Green Day’s album of the same name, is the opening number, “American Idiot.” It’s an overplayed song, and the dance sequence makes you think you’re in for something that resembles High School Musical. From there, things drastically improve…
Hard to believe it’s been nearly three decades since Perry Farrell first unleashed his tortured wail on the innocent masses. Along with the androgynously hunky Dave Navarro, Farrell has disbanded and reunited Jane’s Addiction a handful of times over that lengthy span. And each time the guys get back together,…
If you currently have a pulse, there’s something in Grupo Fantasma’s Latin funk oeuvre that will move you. The Austin big band has backed Prince, won a Grammy for 2010’s El Existential, and singer/multi-instrumentalist Adrian Quesada still manages to find time for side projects such as Brownout, Ocote Soul Sounds…
Though 2009’s Balf Quarry was the last proper album Connecticut duo Magik Markers put out, you can’t necessarily quantify the group by their recorded output. They’ve released many albums, 7-inches and CD-Rs in the last decade, but live is where you want to hear their harsh free-wave jams. Witnessing singer/guitarist…
Fort Worth guitarist Darrin Kobetich released his latest opus, The Longest Winter, earlier this year. It’s a wild 27-song mix of Middle Eastern, blues and ambient reveries, as Kobetich seamlessly transitions between guitar, banjo, mandolin, djembe, dobro and more. They’re not so much traditional “songs” as experiments in style and…
Her feud with Ashton Kutcher aside, Longview’s own Miranda Lambert has had no problem getting her share of the spotlight — that happens when your first two albums are called Kerosene and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Last year saw the country singer release her fourth album, Four the Record, as well as…
Local quintet Air Review has a pretty busy summer ahead, including a stop on KXT’s Summer Cut June 1. Frontman Douglas Hale recently shared some of his musical firsts, including his first cassette, video, and when he heard his band on the radio. What was the first music-related item you…
The Melvins, Unsane Trees Monday, May 7 The turnout at Trees was surprisingly strong for The Melvins’ 90-minute set last night. Taking the stage to orchestral gladiator music, guitarist Buzz Osborne, drummer Dale Crover, drummer Coady Willis and bassist Jared Warren kicked in hard with “Dog Island.” Jumping way back…
Justin Townes Earle Dada Saturday, May 5 Justin Townes Earle looked dapper as he took the stage alone Saturday night at Dada. Whippet-thin, with a cleft chin that would make Travolta envious, he started the evening with nods to Woody Guthrie, first with “They Killed John Henry” and then with…
Last year at Chaos in Tejas, Austin’s annual hardcore and punk fest, Portland’s Tragedy laid waste to DIY venue The Broken Neck in the way any good after-hours hardcore show should: I left with beer, sweat and spit on me, and Tragedy almost blew the PA. Adding to the tinnitus…
The Track Meet DJ crew is throwing yet another themed party, this one in the glittering confines of Beauty Bar, to celebrate the release of Ynfynyt Scroll’s new EP, Let Me See It. YS is the moniker of former North of the Dial columnist Rodrigo Díaz, and I’ll just let…
Since Greg Ginn settled himself and his SST catalog into Taylor, Texas, a few years ago, we’ve been seeing him a lot more around here. The former Black Flag guitarist even played Coachella this year, on the same day of Tupac’s hologram, which fits at least two decades of L.A…
Has Justin Townes Earle found solace since his excellent 2010 LP Harlem River Blues? Nope. In the legacy of troubled troubadours, he’s still just as tormented by addiction, heartache and a sense that the world is inexorably pressing down. But pain fuels his latest release, Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way…
In the span of the past month, Sarah Jaffe graced our cover, Zhora reported for My First Show duty, and we had John Dufilho, aka John Singer Sergeant, interview co-hort Salim Nourallah in the wake of his new collaborative self-titled album. With that business taken care of, this is one…
The first time I heard guy/girl duo Tennis, there was very little information to accompany the free MP3 download. Many things were left to the imagination, which was an interesting way to hear a new band in an age when the MP3 is accompanied by a band’s one-sheet. The song…
