Precious few listeners notice the drumming in modern-rock bands. But Julian Dorio, stick man for the Whigs, is an exception to this rule. His agitated skinsmanship on Mission Control, the band’s new full-length, not only anchors the album but provides just as many of the hooks as do frontman Parker…
After Green Day made punk acceptable to middle-class kids who bought their CDs at the mall, there was a void of product that was filled by an unlikely source: hard-core punk that didn’t have the advantages of tastefully applied eyeliner and faux British accents. Those disgruntled suburban youths were in…
Though it was once chiefly a spot to check out up-and-coming rock bands, The Cavern seems to have found its niche by branching out into hosting local hip-hop and dance events like the weekly Cool Out with DJs Schwa and Big J. Similarly, Saturday’s lineup is sure to be a…
Pardon, if you will, but the bliss is almost too much to bear—and that’s before the needle greets the record. (Ah, yes, right: “needle” and “record.” Children, do ask your grandparents.) Costello—still ignoring the expiration date stamped “1986,” the date of his most, ahem, recent must-own—has finally rushed to market…
The characters given life by Slug on Atmosphere’s new album have unenviable situations, but they’re not all “painting that shit gold” (whatever that means): Vagrants, single parents and dope-addled fiends, they all work, fuck and wallow in their misery, giving the emotional indie rap act a chance to traffic in…
Robert Holley, lead singer and principal songwriter of the retro-indie quartet Airline, possesses a dry, off-the-cuff delivery that makes even his most intriguing lyrics come off stress-free, as if he’s capable of keen introspective at the drop of a hat. Airline’s heady debut, Farewell Republica, features casually delivered, yet fully…
San Antonio-based Girl in a Coma’s 2007 album Both Before I’m Gone is pleasingly versatile: “Their Cell” resembles the swirling pop of Cocteau Twins, and “Clumsy Sky” begins like a Cat Power lullaby before morphing into a My Chemical Romance-esque rocker—which makes sense, considering that Joan Jett personally asked the…
From sneering vocals straight off Never Mind the Bollocks to the amped-up 12-bar blues progressions lifted from old Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent 45s, everything about The Lash Outs’ debut album screams throwback. It would feel like a grave-digging rip-off if they didn’t attack the songs with so much enthusiasm…
We’re knee-deep into Depression 2.0., running out of jobs and overwhelmed with the amount of people looking for them. Chances are you’re unemployed—or if you aren’t, then there’s a good chance that you will be, because your job can be combined with the guy in accounting, and you and the…
OK, so this isn’t really news, per se–anyone who’s been to the Palladium recently has seen this on the venue’s TV screens–but My Morning Jacket, who our sister paper LA Weekly just deemed the “best live band in the world,” officially announced today its upcoming August 23 show at the…
Jesse Hughey wrote up a review of The Lash Outs’ new self-titled disc for this week’s paper, praising the band’s lyricism and enthusiasm within its straight-ahead punk rock approach. Specifically, he name-checks this song, “The Kids Don’t Wanna Dance,” and rightfully so. Check out these lyrics: And when I walk…
Marquise Knox sure doesn’t sound 17… (Peter Newcomb) Elvis T. Busboy and The Blues Butchers, a Dallas cover act, are the ostensible headliners at the Blue Shoe Project’s free festival Saturday, but the real highlight will be Marquise “Big Daddy” Knox from St. Louis. Knox is just 17 years old,…
“Airline’s really taking off, huh?” Ha! That’s funny. (Jason Upshaw) In this week’s paper, you’ll see a flattering review of local indie rock set Airline’s newest release, Farewell Republica. In the write-up, Darryl Smyers call the disc, “detailed, dramatic and not a little dense, this is local music of rare…
The Stars’ improbable run in the Stanley Cup playoffs continues tonight as Mike Modano and the gang head to Detroit for the first game in the western conference finals. Or so I’m told. Last time I really cared about hockey I was trying to make Gretzky’s head bleed. But, hey,…
When TVT Records filed for bankruptcy back in late February, it was easy to figure out what it would mean for artists on the label’s roster, like Dallas’ own The Polyphonic Spree: no more label obligations, monies owed, etc. But the fallout for those owed money by the label, which,…
Akkolyte, Aaron and Stefan Gonzalez’s grindcore duo (the two also perform with their father, Dennis, in experimental jazz project Yells At Eels), offers up a live show that’s about as fun as grindcore can get (it helps that it’s about as loud as any musical duo can get, too), and…
Cover art by Jayme Nourallah. Spoke with Rhett Miller earlier this week for a story about the Old 97’s new disc, Blame It On Gravity, which you’ll see in next week’s paper. In the meantime, head on over to the band’s Myspace page, where someone went ahead and added on…
I haven’t watched a single second of American Idol this season, the show’s seventh, and clearly I’m not alone; the ratings just keep dropping for the reality singing competition that made Burleson’s Kelly Clarkson a star. But area TV viewers did have a reason to watch the Fox reality show…
This week we sent Observer intern Daniel Rodrigue out on the town to find out what real people think about What Made Milwaukee Famous’ single “Sultan” …and videotape their reactions. See what your fellow Dallasites made of the track, which Stereogum, Pitchfork and NPR all dig. (Oh, Pete, Daniel and…
Or so it would seem, considering the band just announced that its last ever show will take place at an as-yet-undetermined New York City venue. So, those of you Police fans passing up on the chance to see the band for the second time in a year, might want to…
Mom brings the comfort music. (Melanie Gomez) I basically pour out my heart for Denton’s electronic instrumental folk act Mom in my column in this week’s paper, praising the band for its organic, mature sound. Mother’s Day was an excuse for me to run the column on this band, who…
In this week’s paper, Robert Wilonsky steps up and offers his take on the new Elvis Costello and The Imposters record, Momofuku, praising both its sound (“Costello hasn’t sounded so refreshed, relaxed, engaged or enraged in years”) and the fact that Costello chose to release this disc in vinyl solely…
