The fact that women prefer sensitivity to sexuality is well documented. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Woody Allen was People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. Classic singer-songwriters such as James Taylor and Jackson Browne, meanwhile, have built reputations based upon their ability to thoughtfully assess situations, both romantic…
Over the phone, Josh Jones doesn’t whisper and then suddenly break into fits of maniacal laughter like he does on Evangelicals’ first two gloom-pop albums. It’s a bit surprising. After penning the songs on The Evening Descends, a cinematic album bursting with skeleton men, bizarre religious visions, ghosts, bats, a…
On last year’s Under the Blacklight, Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett celebrated the end of their relationship. The one-time couple called it quits just before recording the indie-pop band’s fourth album, which documents the breakup in songs like “Silver Lining” and, um, “Breakin’ Up” (“Ooh, it feels good…
The first few tracks of My Morning Jacket’s fifth studio album, Evil Urges, sound like a cruel put-on, with lead singer Jim James adopting the Prince-inspired falsetto he first toyed with on Z’s “Wordless Chorus” for entire songs—only to have it come across more like a bad Ween joke than…
Whiskey Folk Ramblers have injected traditional country, pop music’s oldest and most distinctly American genre, with a shot of youthful energy and Old World instrumentation. Their arrangement of “Die Easy” is a perfect summation of the band’s approach. It’s a traditional folk song, and they start it out traditionally enough,…
Ryan Bingham would probably fare better if he didn’t call Austin home; Lord knows there’s a crap-ton of Americana, alt-country and folk artists traveling around Texas—probably too many. And in that glut, it’s easy to see how a talented singer-songwriter like Bingham might get lost in the shuffle. Especially if…
The RZA is, of course, best-known for his innovative production work, primarily for the Wu-Tang Clan but also for his soundtrack work for Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino and his production for artists like Dr. Dre and MF Doom. His minimalist production—often just a simple drumbeat, a few creepy piano…
The next time someone tells you that all hip-hop is the same, with narcissistic MCs rapping about their jewelry to pre-programmed backing tracks, make sure to sling the new Roots CD, Rising Down, in their direction. The Philly band—and they are a real band—would be remarkable if only because they…
One reason Seattle’s Death Cab For Cutie became an indie-rock godhead is that the band’s members are so clearly comfortable in their own skins (and sweaters and thick black glasses). They play literate, nerdy, slightly fey pop, and they do it well. So guitarist Chris Walla sounded like he was…
Where Supergrass once stood as an effervescent factory of happy-glam, the group has changed the formula for its sixth effort, Diamond Hoo Ha. Rather than follow 2005’s moodier Road to Rouen with another Marc Bolan-in-rainbows party monster and adhere to the band’s back-forth, up-down M.O., Supergrass has offered up something…
For those curious to hear what Steve Earle’s son, Justin Townes Earle, actually sounds like on record, well, we got your answer. Bonus mp3: Old-school? Absolutely. Any good? Sure, I can dig it. And, again, you can catch him at The Loft on Saturday, if you so choose. –Pete Freedman…
We ran this story last week, previewing tonight’s Mates of State gig at The Granada. Now, an added bonus: We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away to tonight’s show–and, even better, we’re hooking you up with the chance to meet the band before it heads on stage. So,…
Eating burgers, drinking beers and spending a day with your four-legged best friend sounds like an ideal way to spend a Saturday. How could you possibly improve on that? Well, by adding the chance to see Ella Minnow, RTB2, Tre Orsi and Record Hop all on the same bill, along…
My old pal Keven McAlester just finished his latest Old 97’s video, this one for “Dance With Me” off the band’s new Blame it on Gravity. And, really, need we say more: “Starring Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica!” –Robert Wilonsky…
With Jakob Dylan releasing the mostly acoustic Seeing Things and finally accepting the fact that he’s Bob’s son, it would seem that progeny living up to their names is coming into vogue. Justin Townes Earle, son of alt-country godfather Steve Earle, can now be considered part of this surprising trend…
fight bite n. 1 an infected, human bite-inflicted wound (ex: Johnny bit Suzy’s hand and now that shit looks nasty; 2 a new-ish Denton-based band that everyone apparently thinks is amazing (ex: This band Zac Crain really likes is playing Space on Saturday!) Let’s take a retrospective look at how…
An entity called The Revolution Party of Dallas is hosting an event entitled Freedom Tour ’08 to be held at Club Dada on June 16th. While also featuring local acts Dustin Tavella, Fish Fry Bingo and Catfish Whiskey, the show will be headlined by folk singing activist Marc Scibilia. Known…
It was just over a week ago now that the Toadies started streaming a 22-second clip of the title track from its upcoming album, No Deliverance, on its Web site. Now there’s this: Spin.com’s got a full stream of the track on its site this afternoon. For what it’s worth,…
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. Some are left over from previous music editors, others fell by the wayside because they were trumped week after week by albums that…
Norah Jones’ set came after the sun went down. (Pete Freedman) It was sticky as hell in the Saturday evening sun at Booker T. Washington’s outdoor amphitheater as the masses gathered for a performance of some of the school’s most prominent alums (go here for a slideshow). The good news,…
Daniel Rodrigue won’t stop raving about The Cure’s show at the AAC on Friday night, so we here at Weekend Roundup have decided to treat you to two of their clips. Hopefully, this will shut him up…
Robert Smith, looking a little like The Joker. (Daniel Rodrigue) The Cure, 65daysofstatic American Airlines Center June 6, 2008 Better Than: Any concert The Cure’s played in Dallas since 1992–and maybe, just maybe, even better than that one. Download: The accompanying slideshow of photos taken at the show. Three hours…
