We had a few questions for Future Clouds and Radar’s founder Robert Harrison. First, a couple of questions about Tippy Feldman, the group’s number one fan. Here’s a little backstory from the band’s Web site: “Once there was an intrepid motel night watchman named Tippy Feldman who became so keen…
Born in the Honey chronicles the life of piano legend Pinetop Perkins, who has been playing the Mississippi Delta blues for 80-plus years. Called the greatest living blues pianist, Perkins was born in 1913 and learned to play piano from his stepfather. As a young man, he sometimes ran a…
Mustangs and Madras continues to play a passionate brand of emo that’s woefully (and refreshingly) out of step with the times. From first listen, the act’s latest release recalls a bygone era when scenester kids took style cues from the geek chic of Rivers Cuomo rather than the guy-liner of…
Minnesota’s Rhymesayers crew long ago transcended regional status. Its flagship act, Atmosphere, led by rapper Slug, eschewed mainstream trends and won an international fan base in the process. RS member Brother Ali seems destined for the same fate. The albino Muslim rapper has long been considered a lyrical heavyweight, and…
Brother/Sister, the debut effort from New York City’s Hymns, was one of the most underrated discs of 2006. Mixing the most stable elements of Wilco, Pavement and Spoon with refreshingly light and easy folk, songs such as “Magazines,” “Scenery Glow” and “Power in the Street” are tailor-made for folks who…
Forget for a moment the obligatory roll call of hits—we’ll get to that in due time. Focus instead on the fact that few artists have established an image as durable as Stevie Nicks has. True, she can come off as a bit precious—spinning like a dervish, draped in lace and…
Freaks and geeks know the epicenter of their Little D kingdom is located on Hickory Street: For a year now, Secret Headquarters has housed the weird, the loud and the good when it comes to musical excursions and experiments. And, in the process, proprietors/local rock gods Scott Porter (Record Hop),…
Portland’s Lifesavas missed their era—in the mid-’90s, their soul fetish and alt-black politics would have made them prime candidates for a Rawkus deal and a lifetime touring college campuses (hello, Blackalicious). Instead, even though their recent Gutterfly: The Original Soundtrack was strong, it barely made a dent…
The Drams weren’t in mind at all when Denton-based songwriter Brent Best—a melody-minded veteran rock dude who knows his way around a hook and a heartfelt lyric—first started working on the songs that ended up on the band’s debut, Jubilee Dive. “When Slobberbone shut down, I wasn’t ready to do…
Typically, summer festivalgoers migrate to the same sites and are treated to the spectacle of vendors all lined up hawking overpriced clothing, terrible food and beer at gentlemen’s club prices. And the music? Just how many maudlin, middle-aged musical memories need to be rehashed? How often can Cheap Trick play…
I live in what, upon reflection, is a kind of bizarre part of town. I live in the gargantuan South Side on Lamar building, and I know you know which one that is, because if you are anywhere within a 100-mile radius of the south side of Dallas, you can’t…
Invasion: Polyphonic Spree’s Fragile Army is finally poised to invade the nation. The album is set for release June 19, and if you want you can buy the special edition with a 52-minute DVD documentary (made by Julie Doyle) and a Hal Samples-shot video, along with a Fragile Army patch…
With a stiff wind blowing in their faces, the members of the Cut*Off, Fort Worth’s sole grunge/psychedelic combo, played Lee Harvey’s with a valiant determination. Guitarist Jason Hamilton battled endlessly with a broken guitar strap as the yard fires sent carcinogens billowing across the makeshift stage. Singer Kyle Barnhill smiled…
Morrissey, England’s most dapper downer, isn’t quite as depressed as he used to be. In fact, he almost seems to be enjoying what he does these days—thanks, in no small part, to a legion of Latino fans here in the U.S., including the Sweet & Tender Hooligans, a hugely successful…
When it comes to organized religion, Erkekjetter Silenoz, the guitarist/ songwriter for Norway’s Dimmu Borgir, considers himself to be an equal-opportunity hater. “I think most people—at least our fans—know our stance against religion,” he says, his accent as deep as a fjord. “It doesn’t have to be Christianity, but as…
Spirit They’ve Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished (2000, Animal) Danse Manatee (2001, Catsup Plate) now available on FatCat as a two-CD set 3 1/2 paw prints Originally credited to Avey Tare and Panda Bear (plus the Geologist on DM), this finds Syd Barrett’s madcap progeny laughing in a forest clearing as…
If you heard Laura Veirs’ 2004 release Carbon Glacier, you were transported. Veirs’ sparse narrative lyrics, carried by a clear, indelible voice cast from the same material as Lisa Loeb’s and Liz Phair’s, took you to a stripped winter cabin, and you carried vivid flashes of memory—a thrashing river, stones…
Kicking off with the deliciously noisy cacophony of “The Stinger,” Harlem, the debut disc of Denton quartet White Drugs, is such a punch to the eardrums, it makes Iggy Pop seem like a folk singer. Harlem is a witches’ brew of bashing drums, relentless guitars and, of course, singer/guitarist Christian…
Historians studying the JFK assassination have played the “Zapruder Sequence” film footage countless times. Pretty Girl Charm Lies by the Dallas band named after that footage requires far fewer plays to reach a conclusion: It’s a mixture of great songs and boring filler that sounds like records you already own…
Remember ZZ Top’s early albums such as Tres Hombres and Deguello? This was back when the Texas trio still played creepy psychedelic blues, laden with dark riffs and even darker atmosphere, before they cheesed out with “Legs” and that stupid car. Dallas’ Dragna recovers that era of unique Texas blues-rock,…
There should be a natural law which states that the more digital disillusionment permeates a given area, the greater and more proficient its experimental noise output will be. For more than a decade, Japan has led the world in abstract musical exports thanks to artists such as Ruins and Merzbow…
After five years and a handful of releases, Seattle’s Pretty Girls Make Graves is no more. The young dance-rock group ended things on amicable terms following the departure of drummer Nick Dewitt. The group’s 22-city funeral procession is reason to celebrate and cherish the youthful exuberance of the quintet’s cathartic…
