Music

In the paper version of our coverage this week, Darryl Smyers calls Eleven Hundred Springs’ new disc, Country Jam, “two-stepping fare of rare intellect and subtlety, a great record of real music.” Having received the disc here in DC9 HQ as well, we can certainly see where Darryl’s coming from–this…

We get a LOT of press releases mailed and emailed to our offices. Very few actually turn into anything. Until now. Presenting Out of Context Press Release Quote of the Week, in which we quote only our favorite part of a music-related press release…and barely mention what the release is…

A video project created by Dallas artist/musician Paul Slocum, known around these parts for Tree Wave and the And/Or Gallery, has become something of a viral phenomenon on the web, racking up more than 27,000 views on YouTube alone. The video is a hypnotic loop of a scene from the…

I guess you could say I spent last Thursday night behind enemy lines. Except it wasn’t really a hazardous situation. There was no threat of danger. Also: very little sneaking around. And definitely no Owen Wilson. Still, I felt out of place. I was attending Quick’s inaugural Big Thing music…

Truth be told, most musicians would be content to write songs, rehearse them and then walk directly to the waiting, sound-checked stage before a ready throng of appreciative fans. That tedious middle bit—where said stage and fans are assembled, venues booked, concerts promoted, supporting acts arranged and accounts settled—is where…

Given that The Breeders release albums less often than February 29 appears on your kitchen calendar (this month’s Mountain Battles makes just four Breeders albums in the last 18 years), guitarist Kelley Deal might be better known for playing colleague and caretaker to her twin sister, Pixies bassist and Breeders…

Name a pop music A-lister, and he or she has either worked with Pharrell Williams or probably wants to. Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and Madonna all fall into the first category. But as he has transformed himself into one of the three or four most…

When Roger Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985, he insisted that the band had dissolved due to irreconcilable differences. As with any divorce, that sort of language meant getting back together wasn’t an option. And yet, in 2005, 20 years after saying it would never happen, Waters was once again…

With Tapes ‘n Tapes’ sophomore full-length effort, Walk It Off, the band did and didn’t hit the cursed slump. The album, at first listen, seems to be more of the same—a brightly candy-wrapped study of the artists that, at one time, must have inspired Josh Grier and Co. beyond blogs…

Reinventing an old warhorse like “Rock You Like a Hurricane” is no easy task, but Bonde Do Role, a hip-hop collective from Brazil, succeeds by keeping the beats heavy and the mood light. Formed in 2006 by MCs Pedro D’Eyrot and Marina Ribatski along with DJ/MC Rodrigo Gorky, the band…

2007 was a banner year for Sri-Lanka-by-way-of-London artist M.I.A.—Mathangi Arulpragasam, if you’re nasty (or a showboat). With the release of her highly anticipated sophomore effort Kala, M.I.A’s worldly, hip-hop-fueled, throw-everything-from-the-fridge-at-the-wall-until-it-sticks philosophy to music making found itself tops in the eyes and ears of music critics across the globe. The disc…

The spring and summer festival season has arrived, bringing with it those surreal and inexplicable lineups you can only get when middle-aged civic boosters are tasked with arranging a concert bill. But these events also give local-music heroes the opportunity to boast that they’ve shared a stage with major national…

The stateside release of Dizzee Rascal’s 2003 album Boy in Da Corner found the grimy, reggae-influenced London rapper in a precarious spot, forced to follow fellow Brit The Streets in trying to break into the U.S. market. But whereas The Streets showcased a spoken word-like, thoughtful flow, Rascal’s effort seemed…

Though a studio recording, the Tel Aviv-based Monotonix’s Drag City debut EP Body Language is best appreciated as a memento of the delirious tumult this band puts on live. Live, you can’t tell (nor do you care) whether hirsute singer Ami Shalev is singing in English or Hebrew or even…

Years ago, when he was leading Lone Star Trio, Matt Hillyer was the cutest guy this side of Rhett Miller, a rocker in hick’s clothing who deftly integrated rockabilly cool into his potent mixture of hard-core honky-tonk and contemporary Americana. After the demise of Lone Star Trio, Hillyer formed Eleven…

Though Stumptone calls Fort Worth home, it’s easy to pick up on their Denton heritage. One listen to their long-awaited Gravity Suddenly Released is all it takes to hear how perfectly they straddle the divide between the reeling psychedelia of Denton’s space-rock yesteryear and the chicken-fried folkie roots music of…