In the years following Will Courtney's return from L.A. to play music with his sister Lily, Brothers & Sisters have left a significant footprint on the Austin music scene. Their style, a pop-folk sound untarnished by passing trends in indie rock, garnered national recognition by way of their first album, a self-titled record on Calla Lily. Though their vast array of players might obscure this, Brothers & Sisters are at their best when using a variety of voices and instruments to focus on the small things: a great harmony, an elegant melody or a joyful unison of multiple layers. Their new record carries on in this tradition, but as Will Courtney explained to us in a recent interview, Fortunately is significantly bigger than previous efforts....

In the case of The Black Angels, aside from trading their guitars for brass instruments, the tags of “psych-rock” and the comparisons to heavy pop bands like The Velvet Underground and the decades-later brew proffered by The Jesus and Mary Chain will forever chase them. But as this band grows, their sound is no less steeped in dark traditions even as it becomes more and more their own. Their debut Passover was solid enough, but the band’s sophomore disc Directions to See a Ghost is a sizable, ambitious step forward. While the band may never outgrow Velvet Underground references (their own fault, really, considering their name), their new record rediscovers a sound that never was. Many songs on the records begin minimally with either just bass or drums, and reach a sterling crescendo under waves of delayed guitar and lead singer Alex Maas’ welcome high register vox – greatly preferable to the rumbling bass voice that usually always seems to accompany heavy music. ...

Here’s the scene: It’s late in the evening on a Saturday night, and there’s a line full of 16-to-30-year-olds wrapped around the block extending away from the large black door of the New Brookland Tavern in Columbia, South Carolina. Tonight, local, epic, electronic rock band Baumer is playing, and it’s going to be a packed house. A sizable portion of those dance party hungry hipsters clad in t-shirts both black and neon waiting in queue will not even make the capacity cut-off point. But, many of them will stand outside for a good portion of the set, listening from the street. Inside, as Baumer heats up, the cramped crowd bounces and sweats to New Order-inspired electronics, indie rock guitars and a bold voice not unlike that of Muse singer Matthew Bellamy. This isn’t a rarety for the band; it’s every time they play a show in their hometown. ...

Emo’s Free Week bites back tonight with a smorgasbord of sounds from a variety of acts. Lions draw blood on the outside arena with chant-along chorus’ and scorching guitars. Their 2007 release No Generation allowed the band to voice their political views as well as display their rock n’ roll chops, and their live shows aptly roar with energy and fervor. Lions’ “Heavy Metal Lady” currently encourages the masses in homes everywhere to “unleash your inner rock legend” via Guitar Hero III and you can do the same at Emo's tonight!...

As Christmas approaches, good shows tend to get sporadic and good friends tend to leave town, but the promise of Emo’s Free Week will carry us into the empty canvas that is 2008. Still, we have ten days or so to find that one last good moment of 2007....

It did not take long for us to fall in love with Brothers And Sisters’ sunny side up folk-rock as heard on their eponymous full-length debut. The band specializes in pop tinged alt-country with melodies reminiscent of '60s era California and harmonies fit for any decade and state. They recently finished recording a new EP in L.A. -- a five song effort including three new songs, an alternate version of “Sunday Living”, as well......

The 2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival is only a week away, and sure you’ve got your 3-day pass worth who knows what, your personal schedule, and the promise of a wide variety of music. Well, do not let your passion for music or your stamina for festivals run out during ACL fest -- We are proudly co-sponsoring this year’s Wall Of Sound Festival in Fort Worth on the 22nd of September. That’s right, the......

ME Television and the Austin Music Foundation continue to promote the best of the city’s promising up-and-coming acts at Antone’s on Thursdays. After the success of the first Emerging Artists Series, the time is ripe for the latest edition. The good times rock n’ tonk of The Jungle Rockers (featured today in The Daily Texan) along with prog-metal from Stasis promises another night of diverse music. Add to that one of our fast emerging favorites,......

* This post by future contributor Miguel Hinojosa This Saturday, The Longbranch Inn opens its doors to three Austin bands whose styles are so distinctively varied that it's sure to become one of the years most remembered performances: The Crackpipes evoke spirits of jukejoints, jazz clubs, and punk rock dive bars in music that explodes in an adrenal-mental joyous noise. Theirs is a live act that combines The Stooges' Raw Power with Ornette Colemans'......