Along with Cooder Graw and Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland and the Stragglers are part of a talented crop of like-minded country-rock bands that popped up like virulent weeds in 1999. Along with the hugely popular Ragweed, Boland used to have a home base of Stillwater, Oklahoma (he now lives…
Spune Productions has organized another endurance-testing showcase that ensures you should spend the day in Denton. But you’ll have plenty of time during bad sets to enjoy the city’s non-musical attractions: Lance Yocom was kind enough to book three hours of lousy metal from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., which…
The current reigning ambassador of the loosely defined mash-it-up genre known as breakcore, Luca Venezia–aka Drop the Lime–has been expanding the palette of club music aficionados since he broke on the scene in 2003. DTL’s blend of grime/dubstep, frenetic 4/4 techno, IDM and Baltimore house, along with a fuck-the-rules attitude,…
Last week, for the first time in its five-year existence, we neglected to attend the Austin City Limits Music Festival, opting instead to take in several acts as they stopped by Dallas en route to Austin. Sure, the life-changing Sufjan Stevens and Cat Power sets we caught were better than…
Hippies, though admirable and well-intentioned, often compensate for their excellent politics with profoundly lousy art. Which is a real bummer, as our current political situation is profoundly lousy–as you might have heard, we’re living through one epic backlash against the ’60s and liberal democracy and yada, yada. Meanwhile, the last…
When the purveyors of pop culture want to know who’ll be hot the next year, they usually look to the dubious cast of characters known as experts. But that title gets thrown around like dollar bills at a strip club. The chance that they’ll be on the money is usually…
British metal band Bullet for My Valentine’s drummer Michael Thomas is lucky he still has his lungs–or at least that’s what his P.R. people want us to think. The band was filming their last video in a cave, and Thomas contracted a “deadly lung disease.” OK, caves are full of…
It’s the day after Jet’s last European show before heading to the States, and drummer Chris Cester is fulfilling his interview quota by cell phone from London. The Australian quartet is crossing the pond for a mini-tour advancing their sophomore CD, Shine On, due to be released in early October…
One of these dudes is the touring guitarist for Dashboard Confessional. How kooky is that? Not as kooky as the jams you’re gonna find on this record! The two boys in Ratatat go their own way, and that way involves crafting pointillist instrumental compositions out of–crap, what don’t they use–guitars,…
The fourth release from Danish alt-pop stars Mew seems ripe for success in an American market currently embracing Coldplay/Keane epics (and their indie flipside, slacker lullabies by the Shins and Rogue Wave). And the Glass Handed Kites opener “Circuitry of the Wolf” comes churning out with stuttered strums, spooky piano…
Sure, one can call Hem traditionalists, with their seemingly soul-mate marriage of loamy folk and country roots with a cinematic chamber music sensibility. But within the roar and crackle of much of today’s modern music, Hem has forged a genuine alternative that sounds like no one else, save perhaps for…
New England’s Unearth stands distinct from the new wave of generic modern metal. Renowned for its live show, the neo-thrash quintet swirls shoulder-length mop tops, burning more calories than your average emo kid consumes in a year. Warming the stage for Slipknot last year, Unearth gave the nine-man metal machine…
Put together by music industry biggies Gary Kurfirst (Talking Heads, Jane’s Addiction, The Ramones) and Chris Blackwell (Bob Marley, U2), Musica Fresca is a Latin fusion showcase with Grammy-nominated hip-hop duo Akwid (hip-hop), New York Latin/funksters Yerba Buena, reggaeton artist Voltio and Santana faves and Latin rockers Radio Mundial. The…
Marvin Gaye’s awed and fearful three-word question is perhaps the most natural reaction to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. As we watched a city drown and empty out and now, perhaps, wither and die, we couldn’t nor can we help but ask, as Gaye did when confronted with all the…
San Francisco’s über-punk trio Coachwhips is no more, but it knew enough to cap its career with the proverbial bang. Coachwhips approaches rock ‘n’ roll without any false notions of “sophistication” or “professionalism.” If you’ve ever liked the Cramps or the Fall but thought they were just too slick or…
Keb’ Mo’ will play the spirit of the blues–literally–in Honeydripper, the next movie by acclaimed director John Sayles. The casting, however, isn’t as perfect as it seems. Press reports describe the flick (Sayles’ first since 2004’s Silver City, which was largely filmed in Denver) as a musical drama focusing on…
What if Leonard Cohen fronted a bluegrass ensemble? Denton’s Pinebox Serenade can give you a pretty good answer, somewhere in the middle of their seven-piece medley featuring, among other things, mandolin, fiddle and cello. Serenade has become a ubiquitous favorite in area dives over the past year or two, their…
It’s easy to brand the entirety of post punk as “played out.” Yet, in its purest form, all it means is truly creative rock with a punkish disregard. This triple shot is as creatively punkish as it gets, headlined by Toronto’s Creeping Nobodies, one of the more in-yer-face products in…
“I don’t want to become a terminally local band,” says Nick Nowell, guitarist and front man for Thorn vs. Side, one of the area’s freshest mixes of punk, pop and metal. The band has been together two years, honing their skills in a Denton garage while trying to perfect their…
“Seattle is America’s Copenhagen,” says John Roderick, ringleader of The Long Winters, one of America’s finest purveyors of angular and melancholy pop. Putting the Days to Bed, the latest collection of Roderick’s depressed metaphors, is a stunning statement of artistic purpose. Full of emotional epics packed into three-minute structures, the…
Xtina, Paris, Jessica and Beyoncé have all just released records. Are you up to speed on your pop pabulum? 1. A “Freakum Dress” is: a) A song on Beyoncé’s new album b) Something Bill Clinton would just rather forget c) The title of the new Devendra Banhart record d) The…
“Next, please!” For one whole week you get to read my take on Dallas’ music scene. Having lived here for all but a few ill-fated months after high school (no need to discuss those), I have strong beliefs that, like the popularity of skinny jeans, Dallas’ music scene is cyclical…
