Good BBQ and a destination for large-scale outdoor shows are two of Stubb's key selling points, but the inside room isn't shabby either. Inside is where they host their Sunday gospel brunch, and where they regularly showcase bands at night with an under-the-radar (though not unsubstantial) presence. Fitting pretty snugly into that description is Cass McCombs, a fitfully original and restless songwriter who, since 2002, has released one EP and six LPs, including Wit's End and Humor Risk, both released this year. more ›

The term “eclectic” is overused, but this appealing debut earns it in spades. The brainchild of New Yorker Gabriel Birnbaum, God Bless The Hunger starts off as a lo-fi riff on Neutral Milk Hotel but then veers wildly into unoccupied territory: Stax-flavored horn charts (“Reasons”), Bowie-circa-Young Americans soul pastiche (“City Kids”), dissonant ambient rock epics (“Love Letter”), and Zappa-esque nu-classical excursions (the title track). more ›

Cass McCombs has mastered the spell of casting spare, hazy instrumentation that creates a space just tangible enough for the listener to become lost in. But “Dreams Come True Girl” simply sets the bar outlandishly high, even by the time Karen Black’s guest vocals make an entrance late in the song, sun-drenched and conjuring Lolita. more ›

Also out this week: Neil Young's Neil Young Archives, Vol. 1: 1963-1972, spanning the first decade of the legendary artist's career and featuring eight CDs with loads of previously unreleased and rare material. Another album we recommend checking out is Elvis Costello's latest, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, produced by T Bone Burnett and currently streaming on Costello's Web site. more ›

Photo from MySpace Jose Gonzalez w/ Cass McCombsThursday, November 29The Parish Room (214 East Sixth Street)$20 presale, doors at 8, all ages show[info] | [tickets]If left to your own Texan devices, it would be easy to assume that world-famous guitarist/heartthrob José González came from somewhere south of the Rio Grande, or perhaps even from Austin's own bustling music scene. But, luckily, you don't have to rely on your own devices. And that means that when... more ›

Jason Quever combines anecdotal songwriting with lush folk-pop in Papercuts’ Can’t Go Back, out soon on Gnomonsong. The San Francisco based musician finds a unique balance between malaise and vigor on his new release. Moody narratives are married with layered orchestrations to conjure a somewhat manic depressive feel. The album opener, “Dear Employee” ends with resigned refrains of “I don’t need you no more” while the possibly tongue-in-cheek “Unavailable” repeats “He’s stepping out for a... more ›