ACL 2018: An ATH Playlist

Only a few short days now ladies and germs. Only a few short days away from the glory that is Austin City Limits Music Festival. We’ve been doing things a little differently this year and changing up our coverage with unique previews and playlists in place of our usual interviews and band previews. Hopefully you’ve found something interesting to prepare you or a loved one for the upcoming weekend. I spent most of my morning compiling a huge playlist of bands I plan to see over the course of the festival and yes, Disturbed is on the list. And Lisa Loeb…Fight me. Consider yourself prepped.

You can trust my genius musical skills and play in the given order, or click on the first video and shuffle the order to your liking.

If you’ve been living under a rock for month, tickets are still currently on sale for both weekends of ACL.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFKfcEIQB2Zx2xDkPlOYP8OE-geWLkS2A

Fest Preview Friday: Frontmen Worth The Hype

One week! We’re one week away from another weekend of fun times, great tunes, tasty beverages and tastier foods at Austin City Limits 2018. Have you figured out which bag you’re going to take to comply with the new bag rules? Have you scoped out the list of food vendors so you know what local restaurant you’re gonna support when you stumble through a crowd of hungry people for the goods (hello, yes, I’ll take 8 orders of Kimchi fries plz)? Do you have appropriate rain shoes/gear on deck for when Zilker inevitably becomes a mudpit at the first drop of rain? No? Get to stepping, the time is almost here and to the best of my knowledge our Amazon overlords won’t be delivering to the fest via drone. On a musical note, I’ve got a preview for you today of some performances that I’m expecting to be dynamic and exciting not only because of the sweet tunes they’ll be playing, but because of the men and women who will be commanding the stage. Read after the jump for this lady’s hot take on which performance are must-see for weekend one.

Read more

Feel Good with Saint Pepsi

saintpepsiFriday’s are for feeling good, forgetting the week behind you, and just having fun with your family and friends.  I’m pretty sure this single from Saint Pepsi will do precisely the trick; it’s like a more dance floor-ready version of Twin Shadow, with those sharp guitar cuts and infectious beats kicking things along.  This track is the featured tune on his Fiona Coyne 7″, which is being released via Carpark Records on August 12th.  If you’re in need of something to pick the day up, then turn the volume loud and spin this song a few times…your day will get better in no time.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/157700627″ params=”color=ff9900&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Twin Shadow is a Pop King

Twin Shadow

I’m sure that many of you heard this powerful track somewhere else yesterday, but I don’t care, as it is just too much fun for me to not share here.  Of course Mr. Twin Shadow has given us some great tunes in the past, and this one is clearly just another one to add to his hit’s catalogue.  We can find more of a driving, power pop ballad here when compared to some of his more recent dancey pop tunes.  I will dare you to resist the power of this song.  Double dare.

Twin Shadow is currently working on the follow up to his critically aclaimed 2012 album Confess.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/To-The-Top.mp3]

Download: Twin Shadow – To The Top [MP3]

Show Review: Twin Shadow @ Emo’s (6/22)

Why? All I can do is ask why.

Twin Shadow was on my list of best shows last year. It was a sold out two night stand at The Mohawk. Confess had all the buzz in the world behind it. Fast forward to last Saturday and a group of about 1200 fans gathered to get another dose of George still touring on the strength of Forget and Confess. Unfortunately, this iteration won’t make my list of best shows. The band sounded amazing, but the lighting that must have seemed like a good idea at the time, just killed it for me (and not just because I take the photos).

Read on for thoughts on a surprising Elliphant and peep the pics of Twin Shadow in Projector Land…

Read more

Show Preview: Twin Shadow @ Emo’s (6/22)

Date 6/22/13
Location Emo’s
Doors 9:00pm
Tickets $18.00

Everyone should be well aware of our love of George and company. Twin Shadow has made just about every best of list we have done. If you haven’t seen this band yet, you should punch yourself in the head. Or better still, buy a ticket and brave the parking gauntlet of Emo’s (show at Antone’s tomorrow night, too).

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RunMyHeart.mp3]

Elliphant is opening. Twin Shadow keeps up the tradition of bringing Swedish synth pop in to break the ice.

Chilled Vibes from Night Moves

It’s funny to me that some bands get over-looked from time to time, even when they’re putting out incredible work.  For me, Night Moves, who released Colored Emotions recently, sort of got left off the charts, though they offer a lot of that smooth R&B influence that many popular acts such as Twin Shadow spin out.  I’m not saying they sound like that, but there’s some similarities.  Personally, the songwriting by the group, leaving listeners with swelling tracks, is really enticing, so I’m encouraging everyone to go back and check the group out.  You can start with their brand new single, which shares the same name as the album’s title.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/74254908″ params=”show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Top Songs of 2012: 1-100

Our year end lists are wrapping up at this point, but we wouldn’t be a legitimate music site without a list of the top songs from 2012.  Personally, I feel like this list is a thousand times more difficult to compose than an albums list because we’re dealing with close to 400-500 songs in the running.  It’s been a long process trying to narrow that iTunes playlist down to 100, and I know some incredible tunes from this year are missing, but we hope you enjoy.  Ladies and gentlemen, follow the jump for the ATH version of top 2012 songs.

Read more

Top Albums of 2012: 50-1

Here it is.  I know you’ll hate it; I know you’ll disagree, but that’s not the point in making an arbitrary list.  We here at ATH worked really hard to fit in the tastes of the four of us, and when we decided upon our Top 50, it really boied down to simple math.  What albums did we love when they came out?  Do we still enjoy spinning those records months later? If they’re in the Top 50, then the asnwer is probably yes.  I mean, our Top 2 records came out in January, and still play a vital part in my weekly listening.  There’s no disclaimer here.  We are who we are, we like what we like, and we hope that’s okay with you. If not, drop us a line and let us know where we went wrong.

Read more

Top Live Shows in Austin in 2012

Our year end coverage begins with the three chiefs over at the ATH offices reveling in what was an incredible year in Austin, musically speaking.  Tons of rad bands blew us away with their live sets, and, well, there were just tons of bands.  I think we did more show coverage this year than in previous years, but as always, the great thing about our site is diversity.  We’re also linking back to our full reviews and photos of some of these nights, so you can get more of a feel of our thoughts, not to mention, checking out Brian’s great photographic 2012. Read on for thoughts on live acts from the three main contributors.
Read more

1 2 3