Music

It’s not exactly surprising that Shearwater vocalist Jonathan Meiburg moonlights as an ornithologist—after all, he thanks four birds by scientific name in the liner notes of Rook, the band’s fifth full-length (also named for a bird and sporting a spooky, Hitchcock-inspired cover). Expanding the sonic palette employed on 2006’s stellar…

On first listen to Fleet Foxes’ debut, it’s easy to think, “How in the world did Sub Pop manage to dig up another band that sounds even more like My Morning Jacket than Band of Horses does?” Repeat listens reveal these Foxes to be of a much folksier pedigree, however,…

These days, it’s nearly impossible not to see, hear or read about Old 97’s. Rhett Miller and crew have just released Blame It on Gravity, supposedly a return to form while bassist Murry Hammond’s solo debut turned out to be a very pleasant surprise, an acoustic, country gospel record full…

Daniel Folmer may have come onto the scene in 2006 as a wide-eyed wunderkind, but with 2007’s Gloria, and now A Leaf, he’s starting to carry himself like a sage observer of the human condition. Folmer’s earnest-yet-slightly-cynical balladry continues to mature, occasionally veering into Rufus Wainwright territory, but forgoing Wainwright’s…

The frolicking, rollicking threesome—Maddie on guitar and vocals; El on bass and vocals; Mo on drums and ‘fro—made its bow on December 22, 2004, at a Manhattan rocketeria; the band was the opening act for BeavHer ’80s Dance Party, heh. Then came a 10-song demo in ’05 (or not, details…

Thanks to an endless flood of import singles, live albums and re-releases, it’s hard to believe that The Cure’s next album, which is due in September, is only the gloom-rockers 13th full-length effort. Maybe that’s ’cause when The Cure does release a disc, Robert Smith and Co. want to make…

Oxford, Mississippi’s John Barrett has one-upped The Black Keys and The White Stripes by stripping his blues-garage rock band down to a single member. Or is that one-downed? Either way, in Barrett’s case, the rudimentary percussion complements his rawboned songs. He sings and plays grimy blues licks along with whatever…

Bassist Leif Edling has been the de facto leader of this epic doom metal band for more than two decades now, picking and firing bandmates seemingly at will. Known for his humor (the band’s debut was titled Epicus Doomicus Metallicus) and his ability to detect premium talent, Edling seems content…

This week, we again sent Observer interns Daniel Rodrigue and Spencer Campbell out onto the streets armed with a cheap-ass walkman and a copy of a song from a band coming through town. The song in tow for this go-round was the French Kicks’ “Abandon,” and the dynamic intern duo…

Due out on July 8. It’s been a really slow blog day here at DC9. Sorry ’bout that–busy day, not much to blog about, yada yada yada. Yeah, so… Here’s an mp3 for you to download. It’s from Kessler, an alt-rock act from Rockwall that’s a big hit in the…

In an effort to prep ourselves (and all you lovely folk) for tonight’s Architects’ show at the House of Blues, we’re sharing the band’s single “Pills.” Bonus mp3: Download it. Listen to it. And, if you end up digging the Kansas City punk act, hit up the show at 8…

Spector 45, drawn out. (Miguel Aguilar) So here’s the deal about Spector 45 (which celebrated its five-year anniversary at Dada on Saturday): They’re just a good time, man. Over the course of a 45-minute (or so? I lost track) set, singer/guitarist Frankie 45 (aka Frankie Campagna) must’ve taken about four…

A wiser Mount Righteous. (Adam Neese) Mount Righteous actually got home last Wednesday from its tour. But through email complications, this final post has been unfortunately delayed. Either way, here it is: Mount Righteous’ final tour blog post. Enjoy. After spending most of the morning and afternoon at the house…