This is fine.
For those of you living outside of Austin, please pay attention. For those of you already here, you’re hopefully familiar with Austin’s John Wesley Coleman. His solo work and his work with The Golden Boys remain a constant in this city, and we briefly caught up with him to get a few words before he starts playing all over town. Check out what he had to say in response to our questions. Read more
The Austin Music Blogger Awards is this Thursday, and it’s arriving with a little controversy via This Post by music icon, Gerard Cosloy. Reflecting upon my options, I wasn’t sure what to do. I was even advised to leave it alone because he’s the guy that put out the Pavement records. But, I’m from Austin, and I’ve been part of this music scene far longer than Gerard has lived here, so I feel its best if I take a few moments of my day to explain my perspective on the events…and perhaps even respond to a bunch of Mr. Cosloy’s points. Read more
“Have never checked that out but seems like it would be pretty cool!” Yo, this is what I’m talking about! SXSW Interviews. This is one of the great things about SXSW; you get to discover brand new bands to love and adore. Perhaps one of those bands will be the Rich Hands, the Texas trio who seem to be working as hard as they can to get as many dates lined up for you as possible during the week. They have at least seven shows, so check out what they had to say, and try to hunt them down during the festival (their tour dates are at the bottom). Read more
Another pile of bands was added to the conference.
Many great bands.
…and Melissa Etheridge.
The list overwhelms.
Come to my window.
…or click past the break, please.
We’ve put our pretty little heads together ladies and gentlemen to bring you our favorite songs from this past year. It was a difficult task with our ever growing staff, but we feel like this list best represents the diverse taste of our staff. Love it or hate it, it’s ours to call our own. Hit play and put your head down or dance or shimmmy or drool or whatever works. Most of all we hope you hear something you missed, something you want to buy or something you want to see live.
Scroll past the playlist for full the run of the bestest songs ever this year.
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I’m feeling local this weekend, and though there are a couple of interesting traveling tours coming into town (Those Darlins/The Blow), I really think your best bet is to end up at Hotel Vegas on Saturday night. Some of our favorite bands will be playing that evening; these are bands we’ve supported in some fashion since we started this site. You’ll get to catch Booher, which is the new project from former Zykos member, M. Booher. Plus, you’ll get Frank Smith, who’ve put out tons of great songs, all of which we’ve enjoyed. Headlining the night will be another band we clearly support, as we helped the band put out their self-titled LP: Grape St. They’ve only gotten better over the last year, and you should expect a full house to bring things to a riotous evening. And, it’s going to be cheap, so why not hit up a great local show?!
Download: Grape St. – Double Golds [MP3]
I can not believe it is time to start thinking about SxSW. It is like the Christmas decorations at Home Depot, earlier every year.
The initial list of artists invited is out and it is a local heavy list. Not too many big acts, but I think there is something for every music fan interested in day parties and collecting wristbands. Warm up your RSVP skills, March 11, 2014 will be here before you know it. I am on four VIP lists already.
Head past the break for the big list via the PR text…
They may not want to admit it, but for all intents and purposes, Parquet Courts are a Texas band! So, as a Texas-based site, we’re going to say nice things; they’re label What’s Your Rupture rules pretty hard too. With the announcement of a new EP, the band is sure to start making waves again, just as they did with Light Up Gold. This new track has the same chugging guitar lines their debut featured, but it includes new touches like a bit more distortion on the guitars and a recorder/flute. It adds another dimension that will surely make the Tally All the Things That You Broke EP another success. It hits the streets on October 8th, and the band will be playing both weekends of Austin City Limits.
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It’s that time of year where everyone on the Internet is throwing in their two cents as to what the best records of the year are, at least up to this point. We thought we’d give it our own go, with each of us tossing out our choices. I can tell it’s going to be a huge fight come time to make our year end list.
Rating: 
In my mind, it’s got to be hard to start to craft your own sound, unburdened by the music one consumes, unless of course you’re in a semi-remote area, such as Finland. It’s clear when listening to Black Lizard that they bear the touchstones of many acts, but their self-titled debut sees the group creating something entirely their own; it’s an album with diverse sound that will please any listener.
Sonic exploration seems to be the key to the album’s opener, “Honey, Please.” Like a storm, it rolls in quietly on the back of a ringing guitar, with happily haunting vocals drifting atop. For me, the marvel is the restraint show on the tune, as Black Lizard seemingly stay in one mode for the entirety of the track; I’d be apt to just let go with a wall of noise. However, the band moves into more psychedelic territory on the following “Boundaries,” which is in danger of having some of the atmospheric guitars bleed all the way through your speakers. Percussion on this tune takes a more tribal approach, while the vocals still have that foggy coating, even with a bit of clarity opening up briefly before the song fizzles out in a haze.
Even though the more broad reaching tracks on Black Lizard definitely hold a spot on my weekly playlist, I think that one of the facets that works best for the band is when they go for simplicity, such as on “Dead Light. Sure, the pacing in the beginning has that slow opening, but when the chorus lets loose with distorted guitars and vocal swagger, it’s perhaps one of the best moments on the album: a sure hit. “Forever Gold” is similar, especially in the realm of length, but it’s a quick banger that allows the band to tightly weave their sound into a neat little package for listeners. It’s not that the group gets too expansive, I just enjoy when they get a bang-on chorus that makes me bob my head, and that’s present in both these tunes.
If I were to counsel the group, I think my advice would be to allow for the vocals to shine through a bit more though, just a bit. “Love is a Lie” is one of the most memorable tracks on the album, and it’s success is that it combines that stomping rhythm, bits of distortion, but also vocals you can attach yourself to, allowing listeners to fully invest themselves in the record. But, aside from that small slight, Black Lizard clearly are defining a sound all their own, making this an effort worthy of your time. You want post-rock? Shoegaze? Psychedelia? It’s all here, and it’s all execute with a style that perhaps could only be captured in the land of Helsinki.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/BLACK-LIZARD-Love-Is-A-Lie.mp3]Download: BLACK LIZARD – Love Is A Lie [MP3]
Black Lizard is out now on Soliti Music.
