Category: News

Lily Taylor Wins You Over with Her Voice

lilypadThere’s the sort of music where the instrumentation alone makes the track.  You’re playing air drums while driving in your car; the people next to you are pointing and laughing.  Then there’s the type where you’re sucked in with the emotional draw of the vocals; this is where you find artist Lily Taylor.  Her new song has barely any instrumentation aside from very light touches that allow space for her vocals to draw you in.  Those pipes are seductive, sucking you in second by second.  Her new record, The Ride, will be released by Pour Le Corps on September 2nd.

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Jangling Pop from Fews

fuseStill not entirely sure how I feel about the band name here, but I know that I’m definitely feeling the vibe on this new track from Fews.  Immediately, the jangling guitars ring out just before the rhythm section joins in to propel the tune forward.  You’ll hear a bit of a soft dream vocal on here, but the recording and some of the inflections make it just a bit more playful than some of the group’s peers.  The band sound like a more upbeat version of the Drums, which isn’t a bad thing, so we look forward to hearing more from these guys now that they’ve returned to the music fold.

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ACL Taping: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

ACL LiveDoing this music site, photo thing, I get to go to some cool stuff and ACL Tapings certainly top the list. Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Nick Cave…

The latest run-through the rules by Terry Licona was to introduce Thao the Get Down Stay Down. Back to the normal formula after the Nick Cave experiment, Thao’s set was webcast, as well. Their set from ACL was really fun. Festival band all the way, but how would it translate to the taping format? Happy to announce, quite well.

Read on for thoughts and a few pics from the night and some shots of her performance by the great Scott Newton.

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New Tune from Allah Las

allahOne of the things I love about listening to Allah-Las is that you get the real sense that you’re listening to music in California.  While their songs have hints of the modern psychedelia, they carry with them these sun-drenched guitar tones.  I guess that’s an easy comparison considering they’ve titled the new LP, Worship the Sun, but those hues of Cali make a great impression on listeners.  That being said, the new album has a lot of progression in it’s songwriting; the songs are tighter and there’s a greater variance from song to song.  You can grab the LP on September 16th from Innovative Leisure.

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Austin Weekend Show Spotlight

Austin, I love you.As the weather unfortunately heats up, that means there’s also a music scene heating up.  There’s tons of shows this weekend in particular, both local and traveling.  I won’t bore you with details, but remind you to show up early to catch openers, especially the local ones like Sweet Talk playing at Mohawk tonight. Here you go: Read more

Saint Motel Back with New EP

saintsWe’ve long supported the boys in Saint Motel; I personally love their use of piano keys in their tracks…there’s just something uplifting about that aspect of their craftsmanship. This particular track opens with that piano bounce, then builds to a swelling vocal hook, pushed even further by gang-vocals during the chorus.  If you listen to this song and your life doesn’t get instantly better, then perhaps you need to press play again because eventually your mind will give in to the band’s greatness.  This is the third track on the group’s forthcoming My Type EP, which is set to be released next week.

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Solemn Pop Tune from She Keeps Bees

beesI figured I’d start my role on Friday with a little bit of something from the softer side, the new tune from She Keeps Bees.  This track is really relaxing, but there’s definitely some great little touches within the duo’s song.  You hear seemingly casual bits of horns built in to emphasize the strength of Jessica Larrabee’s voice; it’s got that sultry smokiness to it…that’s enough to hook me. They’ll be releasing a new record, Eight Houses, on Future Gods Records on September 16th.

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Austin Spotlight: I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness Return

I-Love-You-But-Ive-Chosen-DarknessIn the early 00s, Austin was alive, like most of the country, in the rehashing of 70s/80s influenced dance music; Red Fez, Whiskey Bar and Beauty Ballroom were the hot spots.  In the middle of that mini-musical explosion was I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, who unfairly got lumped in under the genre of Joy Division copycats.  But, they’re back with a brand new album, and from the sounds on the single, they’re not really going to have to wear that mark much longer. Sure, there’s that melancholic tone, but the guitar and percussive work seemingly move more into a post-rock sphere; clearly this a band who’ve taken some time to grow.  They’re new record, Dust, will be released on Secretly Canadian on October 28th.

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New Music from Connections

Sixes_Promo2I’ve been hooked on the Connections ever since my friend Stephen of Sweet Talk turned me on to their first two LPs.  I snatched them up, and I’ve been thirsting for more, which is lucky as the band are about to release their new record, Into Sixes, next week. The latest track to surface is a perfect piece of power pop, the like I haven’t heard since the last Gentleman Jesse record.  The guitars are crisp, the cymbals shake in all the right places, and the vocals are extremely infectious; I don’t think fans of this genre will find a better LP than what these guys have to offer. They’ve also just put up a video for the single you should watch HERE.  Look for the LP next week via Anyway Records at your local store, or pre-order it HERE.

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