Pslavens

Paul Slavens, recording here as pslavens, seems to have multiple personalities. In fact, considering all his accomplishments in and around the world of music—frontman of the late great Ten Hands to KXT radio host to on-the-spot composer of comedic improvised songs at various local venues and more—he might have multiple…

Florene

Florene’s Homemade Extacy may be a dark, dense listen filled with savage industrial beats, ominous icy synths and echoing primal-scream vocals, but the album is exactly the intense, mind-blowing debut one hopes to see from a experimental electronic band known for its raw, energetic live shows. And it’s a full-length…

The Orbans

Many bands struggle with the task of writing a good hook. You know, that one part in the chorus that gets stuck in your head and refuses to leave. Fort Worth band The Orbans has no such problem. Their debut album, When We Were Wild, is so full of pop…

Two Denton Prepare To Hit The Road, Change Perceptions Together

Shiny Around The Edge’s Michael Seman knows what he’s talking about: “I have a friend,” he says, “that always says, ‘In the city of Denton, people are into their music like other cities are into baseball.'” But one needn’t boast Seman’s Peter Gammons-like knowledge of Denton’s music history to see…

The Lost Toadies Record Finally Earns Its Release

In theory, Clark Vogeler joined the Toadies at just the right time. It was 1996 when he got his invite—only a month after the breakup of his former, locally adored band, Funland. “It was a pretty perfect situation,” the guitarist says over the phone from his home in Los Angeles…

Sherilyn Segrest

The name might not sound familiar, but her voice might ring a bell. After providing vocals and keyboard for the critically acclaimed Deadman and a short stint with local darlings Telegraph Canyon, Sherilyn Segrest decided it was time to play her own songs—songs written on piano, which channel Emmylou Harris…

Bonus MP3: George Quartz — “Coconut”

If you listened to the phenomenal Texas Love Triangle Mix created by Oak Cliff’s own DJ Tommy Boy for Vice UK when it was released back in May, you were no doubt captivated by the mix’s lead song, a cover of Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut” offered up by one George Quartz…

Pitchfork on Florene’s Homemade Extacy: “It Sounds Terrible.”

This morning, the folks over at Pitchfork posted scribe Larry Fitzmaurice’s take on Homemade Extacy, the debut full-length from Denton-based, Waaga-signed Florene, onto its page. And, uh, well, Fitzmaurice isn’t a fan. He gives the disc a 5.4 out of 10. Writes the reviewer: Despite the small bits of potential…

Last Night: Josh Ritter at the Granada Theater

Josh Ritter, The MynabirdsThe Granada TheaterJune 15, 2010Better than: watching both hours of Hell’s Kitchen on TV. Six years and three additional, well-received studio albums can do wonders for a performer’s attendance figures, it seems. Josh Ritter, who rolled through town last night with a stop at the Granada Theater…

Last Night: Erykah Badu at Verizon Theatre

Erykah Badu, B.o.B., Janelle MonaeVerizon Theatre in Grand PrairieJune 15, 2010Better than: standing 20 feet tall. For a good five minutes at the start of Erykah Badu’s two-hours-and-20-minute visual and aural onslaught at Grand Prairie’s Verizon Theatre last night, there was darkness. Her backing band–consisting of two drummers, a keyboardist,…

Bonus MP3: RIVETHEAD – “Stay Alive”

Chances are, you’ve already heard a song by Dallas’ RIVETHEAD. You just may not have realized it. The local industrial/metal band’s music has been played by the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center for several years now–and, beyond that, RIVETHEAD’s songs have been featured on National Geographic’s Tools of…

Clearing Out The Mailroom: Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

We’ve got quite a backlog of CDs we’ve never gotten around to, so we’re going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take a few at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it.Widespread Panic (Athens,…