Hanly Banks, filmmaker and photographer and chroincler of a fake hand's journey across the world is working on a documentary about Bill Callahan entitled Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film. The description on the project's Kickstarter page reads that it is a "concert film/tour documentary/psychedelic thingamajig with musician Bill Callahan and his band. It is a collection of performances and a cross-section of scenes from the road on the U.S. leg of the apocalypse tour. More than that, it is a rare glimpse into the tour van windows of an important American songwriter." Hanly is hoping to raise 5,000 dollars in funds to "mix and master the sound and color" so that Apocalypse can have a spring debut. For one hundred dollars, you get a digital download of the film, a mix cd made by Callahan, and a photo of him holding a photo of you. more ›

Buy Callahan's new record, Apocalypse, from Drag City. more ›

Bill Callahan will embark on a long tour following the release of his latest slow-burning and meditative folk album, Apocalypse. For the inaugural show kicking off a set of dates that stretch into the beginning of August (Dublin will be his next stop after Austin), Callahan will play the Mohawk here in his adopted hometown. more ›

Listeners who have found her a difficult case in the past might just find something to connect with on Have On One Me, we certainly did. more ›

Sophia Knapp began dipping into songwriting in secret; her main affiliation was with the visual arts, a passion she explored through painting and collage. But thanks to a chance meeting with another music-loving visual artist, Knapp began working with sound more seriously, and with the band Lights she and her partners plumb their own combination of freak-funk. The band signed to Drag City for the release of last year’s Rites, and in anticipation of their show on Friday at the Mohawk, Knapp spoke with us about her beginnings and recent move to Austin. more ›

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In the early 70s, brothers David, Bobby and Dannis Hackney started a band in their Detroit garage. Fed by a healthy rotation of Alice Cooper, the Stooges and Black Sabbath, the trio recorded a demo under the moniker of DEATH. The demo saw a bit of radio play, and eventually caught the attention of Clive Davis of Columbia records. more ›

Right away on "Jim Cain," it's hard not to notice the less angular and gritty approach on this record compared to Woke on a Whaleheart. There's a bit of ethereal mist in the air, misty horns and strings swirling about, but since this is a Bill Callahan record, things get a bit darker (and proceed that way) until the end. He's singing about dreaming and waking to an empty room, imagining a woman who may or may not be there, asking for a handbook on mental clarity and noticing the birds have nowhere to land -- everything is in the sky, a mind, a cloud. more ›

Due April 14, Callahan's latest solo effort lives up to the gentle AM Gold vibes of the cover art. Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle is delicate, gruff, manly and demure all at once. Joined by Thor Harris, Jonathan Meiburg, a handful of accompanying musicians (French horn, cello, violin, etc.) and Brian Beattie at the helm, Callahan is as stately and romantic as ever. more ›

JT’s boyish, tuneful vocal style, floating atop perma-fuzzed guitars and cavernous lo-fi production, gives Cosmic Lightning the uncanny aura of a lost Sex Pistols collaboration with David Cassidy. more ›

What can you say about Tel Aviv's Monotonix playing at Mohawk last night? It was a blur. Not just a blur of moments and drinks ordered between songs, but a blur of who was holding you up against the mass of dancing, shouting, screaming bodies who threw beer as if dollars had lost no cents, as if we weren’t in a financial crisis more ›

Brain-teasing intellectual weirdos all, the quartet we call Singer has taken it upon themselves to dispel the rumors that independent music was doomed to cough up its predecessors. The band (composed of some ex-U.S. Maple folks) summons all the greats of obtuse, atonal and jazz-influenced punk rockers: the machinations of subtly Albini-ish guitars grind against Karate'd strums and twinkles, the relentless kick drum bellows out for Slint while the cymbal work (while minimal) and snare-tom exchanges flirt with pure jazz. Robt A.A. Lowe's vocals flatly ignore convention, cooing in high registers like a bratty young Craig Wedren. more ›

Austin's Balmorhea released River's Arms last week, and kicked off their tour here in town. Their tour to support the record will follow the east coast, and land them back here in time for some SXSW gigs. Sample some of the instrumental band's lulling, hypnotic tunes c/o Western Vinyl, and check back here for a full-length review very soon. more ›

Bill Callahan video "Nothing Rises to Meet Me" more ›

Say you like to meditate. Say you like to sit in a room and think real hard and then not think at all. Say you like a little sound in the background to help keep that head of yours on straight. Say you don’t mind some vocals, but not too many, some jangling now-it’s-folksy/now-it’s-noodling guitar, maybe a dash of sometimes-shimmery/sometimes-bombastic drumming to toy with your heart rate. Say you pop in the new Six Organs... more ›

Five years ago you never would have believed it, but it’s true: the harp is so in. And evidence of that is most acute in that elfin goddess of harpsterism, Joanna Newsom, who will be toting her really big harp—and the lilting wordplay that comes along with it—right on down to Austin this Saturday night. And no, it won’t just be her alone lighting up the stage and the eyes of adoring boys at Riverbend Centre, but also our own internationally acclaimed Austin Symphony Orchestra. more ›

UPDATE: We called Frontgate this morning, and were informed that the tickets will indeed be general seated admission. Tickets will be $35 with a $5.50 service fee. more ›

We've just confirmed that Joanna Newsom will be giving a special performance at the Riverbend Centre in October. This will be the first time all of us regular folks stateside will have a chance to experience the whole shebang that audiences in the UK had last year, as she toured Europe in support of . The performance will feature the orchestral arrangements of Van Dyke Parks, who assisted Newsom on the album, and previous performances have garnered praise worldwide -- this isn't one you want to miss. more ›

Bill Callahan Woke on a Whaleheart (Drag City) "Well, I could tell you about the river, or we could just get in" seems to typify Bill Callahan's mood throughout his official solo debut, Woke on a Whaleheart. The album's first track, "From the Rivers to the Ocean", introduces us to Callahan's new take on an old vibe by showcasing little pieces of everything he'll bring to full bloom as the album unfolds. As Callahan croons,... more ›

Bill Callahan Woke on a Whaleheart (Drag City) "Well, I could tell you about the river, or we could just get in" seems to typify Bill Callahan's mood throughout his official solo debut, Woke on a Whaleheart. The album's first track, "From the Rivers to the Ocean", introduces us to Callahan's new take on an old vibe by showcasing little pieces of everything he'll bring to full bloom as the album unfolds. As Callahan... more ›

Two quick concessions: Firstly, we’d never seen Smog live until his recent show at Cactus Café. Secondly, we missed the beginning of his set thanks to a goofy UT freshman who gave us bum directions to the venue, causing us to wander the halls of the student union building basement for what felt like an hour (if we ever see that guy again, he is so dead frowned at). more ›

If ACL fest hasn't caused you to hate music, you might want to check out this week's new releases: DJ Shadow The Outsider (Universal) DJ Shadow's latest offering has certainly managed to garner (perhaps more than) its fair share of critique, and for fans of Shadow who have been listening since Entroducing, it's fairly easy to see why. Outsider is, for the most part, DJ Shadow's most straightforward foray into hip-hop, and features an... more ›

Just minutes ago, we found out that Drag City heroes Joanna Newsom and Smog were booked for a last-minute show at The Parish Room on Monday night. The up-and-coming music bloggers over at Both Sides of the Mouth (also based in our fair city) conveniently dished about the enigmatic Newsom last Thursday. Avail yourself of their lovely writeup plus these downloads below, then get yourself over to the Parish, post haste. Joanna Newsom -... more ›