Oh say can you see Francis Scott Key sitting on a picnic blanket nursing a michelada on the velvet green meadows of Auditorium Shores tonight as the Texas National Guard Salute Battery's 70 millimeter cannons (!) keep time with the Austin Symphony and a fireworks display to rival the decadent aerial ordinance of the Hunan Dynasty explodes overhead? We can. ... [continue]

If we read one more article about how My Education sounds a bit like a certain currently famous Austin instrumental four piece but-seriously-they're-really-good-too we're going to throw up in our mouths. They don't. Yes, you are correct in assessing that they both play music that lacks vocals - which are simply another instrument, not the defining taxonomic characteristic by which we categorize bands - but they are distinct entities making distinct music.... [continue]

Knob-twiddling German indie rockers The Notwist have come a long way since their eponymous punk-rock-metalhead debut. A looooong way. Unless you have a copy of their first LP, it's hard to imagine singer/guitarist Markus Acher's gentle vocals and plaintive lyrics - almost naive in their simple English - being hassled by shred.... [continue]

Curiously, there aren't ten bands playing before Baltimore's indie-darling duo Wye Oak takes the stage this evening. Maybe Emo's is paring down their marathon line-ups. Probably not. There's one, actually, and it's The Cocker Spaniels (a.k.a. Sean Padilla) whose brand of "New Power Emo" will put a smile inside your mouth and a sparkle in your step for days to come. Wye Oak will too, for that matter. ... [continue]

You just want My Morning Jacket to rock forever. Assuming you've been lucky enough to catch their live show, you know it seems like they almost do. If any group has the raw, sculpted tenacity that hints at a longevity, it's them. Marathon performers hawking an inscrutable brand of Bonnaroo-blessed prog-psych-pop with the indie world's tacit nod, they seem poised for success long after we all stop wearing Chuck Taylors. ... [continue]

Confession: we want to date half of Ladytron. Take that how you will, considering the group is equal parts femme and homme and there's a healthy amount of us here in the music section salt mines who fantasize about this group. Who else really makes such tall, dark, and sexy music?... [continue]

Looking back, there probably wasn't a more appropriate patch of weather to be weathered than the intermittent rain and deep, damningly grey clouds that fans had to maneuver underneath on their way the Woodlands Pavilion last Saturday evening. Spirits weren't dampened by one high E string, though. Not only did the mildly adverse meteorological conditions set a suitable tone for the set to come (not to mention the copy of In Rainbows we were warming up to whilst waiting our turn for a space in the White Lot), but it was endearing to see that the multitudes milling towards the venue would have straddled the San Andreas fault line in the middle of the Big One to catch a glimpse of Thom wheedle his internal narrative out of a Rhodes piano until being swallowed alive. Needless to say, we were all looking forward to the show, rain or shine.... [continue]

We don't think anyone will question our assertion that Radiohead are the most respected and sought-after band in the universe. Ever. After The Bends, OK Computer, and Kid A shorted out the synapses of the entire world, all of us insignificant plebes agreed to elevate them to legend status along with the boys from Liverpool, a few members of the Stones, and Evan Dando. That's it. That is the VIP list for our musical Mount Olympus in its entirety. Thom, Mick, and Evan watching America's Top Model and eating pepperoni pizza Hot Pockets in the inner sanctum of some island-volcano hideout.... [continue]

Here at Austinist, we're always looking for compelling (read: freaky-deaky) events to attend. In addition, one of our raison d'etres is making sure that, you, our readers get a heads-up so you can meet us out. One of the best things about this city is the bountiful selection of artists and their intangible wares, so we've got a humdinger for you that's going on tomorrow night. ... [continue]

Whether it's love, death, or racing down the night highway in a blind panic, no musician can pull off the electro-melodrama like Anthony Gonzales, otherwise known as M83, the undisputed king of sensational, overwrought shoegaze. With 2005's Before the Dawn Heals Us, M83 veered a wild right away from its beginnings in otherwise humble ambience and synth-heavy noodling, catapulting over a dead-man's curve and emerging from the wreckage rejuvenated. From curb to coma, BTDHS was a thrilling experience. Unabashedly incorporating dramatic vocal samples and recursive opacity a la David Lynch's Mulholland Drive by way of the hard obsidian aesthetic of DePalma's Heat, the album went for broke on every track. It wasn't surprising to find one's self panting heavily after a listen-through.... [continue]

There seemed to be a collective groan when Mark Kozelek, the lead singer/songwriter and driving force behind Sun Kil Moon, released his second album under that moniker. Consisting exclusively of Modest Mouse covers, completely rearranged and Kozelek-ified, it hearkened back to his earlier remake experiment wherein he tamed old AC/DC tracks, infusing them with a subtle new lustiness. Regardless of whether you think Tiny Cities pulled it off (we kinda did), the reason people continue love this guy is his solid catalog of self-penned tunes. Well, we bitched and moaned that we wanted more real deal Koz-rock, and all of a sudden April came around. ... [continue]

Of all the Godspeed! You Black Emperor side projects, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band -- which, heretofore, we will call ASMZ, based on their band name's first incarnation -- has attracted the most significant following of all the 'spin-off' bands laboring in the absence of GYBE output. ... [continue]

If you're not familiar with the industrious Balmorhea-ns, you're doing yourself a grave disservice, and, frankly, need to get in touch with the scene. The music is vast, yet meticulously restrained: melancholy, determined pianos slowly upended by cellos, soft-spoken conversations between two acoustic guitars, and distant, inscrutable audio samples that elaborate on what each piece seems to urgently chronicle. ... [continue]

The Black and White Years are not merely a group of affable gents - as Austinist discovered in a recent interview - they're also way into creating compelling pop morsels that eschew immediate categorization and confound otherwise severely judgmental blog-journalists.... [continue]

Known primarily for their mildly ethnocentric, dance-craze spawning uber-hit "Walk Like an Egyptian", The Bangles were - and are - a surprisingly resilient and productive group. Around 1983, they seductively crawled on all fours out from under the soiled bed-sheets of L.A.'s Paisley Underground scene to lambaste the world with a series of massive hits that included "Manic Monday", "Eternal Flame", and the aforementioned song about a certain North African country's gait. ... [continue]

If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.... [continue]

With all due respect, It's easy to get lost in the scuffed gloss of Austin's rather self-aware indie-rock scene. Take it from us, and we honestly love the damned thing, in all of its shabby hipster glory. We just sometimes need a change of pace to keep a healthy perspective on all the different pockets of music in this crazy burg. This evening, we encourage you, if you're so inclined, to join us for an evening of solid, unconventional artistry in a scene that is thriving and gaining Austin national recognition for something other than our hallowed go-to bands. ... [continue]

Tonight at Stubb's, two bands will be on their best behavior, seeing many of us out to our respective destinations for the holidays in what might be our last show until - gasp - late next week! Come get a live music fix before making nice with random relatives over deviled eggs and cider in your Mee-Maw's living room. You'll want to equip your noggin with some infectious tunes to hum before you subject yourself to the familio-political rigors of the holiday season.... [continue]

Now this is what we call a Texas winter! You arrive at work bundled up in scarf and pea coat, yet leave squinting at the sun in a wife-beater. Today we've been tramping about in the wonderfully miserable weather looking forward to a cozy bill this evening at the Mohawk that is sure to warm up even the most obstinate Austin cold weather flip-flop wearer. ... [continue]

No. 5 Jose Gonzalez - "Time to Send Someone Away" from Retread Sessions on Vimeo. If you missed Jose Gonzalez at the Parish last week, you missed one of the most intimate, gorgeously performed sets in a long while. All is not lost, though! KUT 90.5 FM's video series called Retread Sessions spent some time with Gonzalez in the America/Americas gallery at the Blanton Museum on campus, and filmed two songs in the process....... [continue]