Other Lives Believes in Albums, Not Bands.

It’d be easy to pigeonhole Oklahoma music as solely focused on red dirt country (see: Cross Canadian Ragweed) or dust-bowl folk (see: Woody Guthrie) were it not for the contributions made by the likes of the Flaming Lips, Evangelicals, Starlight Mints and Stardeath & White Dwarfs in recent years. Another…

The Problem With… Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song”

I’ve never really considered Bruno Mars’ music to be especially industrious. I just imagine that, one morning, some music-industry toady stuck a bunch of magnetic letters on a fridge, spelled out Jason Mraz, shuffled all the letters around and got the name “Bruno Mars.” The whole idea behind Bruno seems…

Last Night: Black Lips and Vivian Girls at The Loft

Black Lips, Vivian GirlsThe LoftApril 28, 2011Better than: holding your dirty hand. You can tell that the Black Lips have been around for almost a decade at this point. It’s clear from the very start of their performance — although not necessarily because their offerings are especially crisp.Actually, it’s quite…

Peopleodian Magically Comes Together.

Though the band is coming off a three-month hiatus, people in Denton should be quite familiar with Peopleodian by now. The band, after all, has performed around the region under its name for more than two years at this point. And, after the additions of lead singer Ally Hoffman in…

Edgefest vs. Arcade Fire: Who wins?

Give credit where its due to Dallas modern rock radio station KDGE-102.1 FM The Edge: The bill for their Edgefest concert this weekend, the station’s 21st, is possibly its strongest ever, featuring headlining performances from the likes of Jane’s Addiction, Weezer, Social Distortion and Flogging Molly. And, hey, the undercard…

Playlist: The Backsliders

THe BAcksliders have rightfully garnered a reputation in North Texas as a band that righteously rocks. And on their latest record, the Bonner-intensive group (Kim fronts the band, her husband Chris plays guitar, his brother Jason plays bass) manages to continue rocking, even if they seem to be holding back…

Playlist: Orange Peel Sunshine

On Orange Peel Sunshine’s recently released self-titled album, the Josh Campbell-led outfit takes post-punk for an enjoyable spin around the American rock block. And though the collection’s production comes with a polish that detracts from the ferocity of certain songs, that slight issue is made up for with scorching numbers…

Critics’ Pick: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

As the brains and guitar brawn behind The Mars Volta and their legendary El Paso precursors At The Drive-In, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has influenced a greater part of the impressionable ears of young America to turn on, tune in and get cosmic. The guitarist’s Pink Floyd/Santana influences didn’t come to the…

Critics’ Pick: Donald Glover/Childish Gambino

After getting his break playing a writer on 30 Rock, Donald Glover has gone on to become one of the most widely recognized rising young talents in comedy, thanks in part to his role as Troy Barnes on NBC’s Community. So when the actor began heavily promoting his rap career…

Critics’ Pick: Phosphorescent, Family Band

Matthew Houck’s Phosphorescent is the kind of act whose albums receive 25 reviews from music publications on MetaCritic and nary a user rating. The talent’s there. Houck’s roots predilections draw inspiration from familiar touchstones such as The Band, Gram Parsons and Willie Nelson, to whom he dedicated his 2009 covers…

The Decemberists Enjoy Stardom On Their Own Terms.

On an otherwise normal evening at Colin Meloy’s house, the Decemberists were working through tunes for their new album, The King is Dead. But one thing was different about this night: The Portland-based band had a special guest joining them. It was Peter Buck, the guitarist responsible for giving REM—and…

Sons of Hermann Hall Turns 100

Sons of Hermann Hall doesn’t really look like much. The lack of foot traffic out in front of the building doesn’t help matters, either. From the outside, it appears nothing more than a lonely and somewhat unapproachable edifice. But things are quite different on the inside of the Deep Ellum…