I’ve been to Austin maybe seven or eight times in this past couple of years, and I love it. I was seriously thinking of moving there. Until somebody told me it was a one night stand town and that you can’t find a serious relationship there. more ›

You, the budget-conscious local music fan considering how to while away the first evening of this most patriotic of holiday weekends, could do much worse than to spend it with the four bands who will take the stage tonight at Trophy’s. We recommend getting there early to catch the promising and dreamy sounding new band St. Cloud, who were recently and unfortunately added to the ever-growing roll of musicians who’ve had instruments pilfered from their vehicles. (Here’s a list of the hot gear.)

After St. Cloud’s set erases any lingering anxiety caused by the cornucopia of national crises currently dogging the nation, Frantic Clam will offer up their inspired update on glam rock, followed by the jangling tones of Jim & the Toms. The garage-pop combo The Little Gentlemen, who recently celebrated the release of their debut album I Quit Nothing, close out the night. more ›

The mysterious process of selecting a band name can only be the subject of conjecture among non-musicians. Case in point: local trio The Gary. How they came to name themselves after your dad is anyone's guess, but peculiar as it may be, The Gary's chosen handle is not the band's most interesting characteristic. There is, of course, the music to consider, principally that from their debut EP Chub, released earlier this year.

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To the list of wonderful things we can thank the late, great indie band Guided By Voices, add guitarist/songwriting Doug Gillard. Musically, Gillard's style hews closely to the skewed, British Invasion-obsessed guitar pop of his old band. But, minus the towering weirdness of GBV frontman Robert Pollard, the tunes are more straightforward (and, dare we say, intelligible) without being any less catchy. more ›

Robert Pollard will forever be remembered as the drunkenly brilliant (or brilliantly drunk) frontman and insanely prolific songwriter for Guided By Voices. more ›

The notoriously stage-shy songwriter has only recently begun taking his band on the road, and will be rolling into the Emo's courtyard tonight, hot on the heels of his latest album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, joined by fellow Tennessean James Jackson Toth and Austin's own Charlie Potts Magic Windmill Band. more ›

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. more ›

Thursday Flamingo Cantina takes a break from bringing in bands like The Skatalites and Israel Vibration. Instead, for this free day show they will host the shimmering and sentimental, Swedish alt rock of the Shout Out Louds. You’ll also hear the catchy California rock of Rogue Wave and the love song sing-alongs and quirky experiments of Akron/Family. Sub Pop’s Portland drums-and-guitar duo The Helio Sequence come prepared with spacey indie rock prettiness, and Fleet Foxes are set to impress with charming guitars and melodic tones. Expect a thrilling display from Athens’ psych-folk collective Elf Power. more ›

Although they may share neighboring shelf space in record stores and similar vowel sounds with the DC reggae/punk band, their music couldn’t be more different. These two blonde Cincinnati boys, Benjamin Davis and Sebastien Schultz, have come up with a fairly affecting mixture of perky pop and sweetly vulnerable indie rock. Well, to be fair there is a third member; she’s a 1973 reel-to-reel for playback of background mixes named Irene. They’ve built up a little steam recently on the music blogs, and of course they’re headed to Austin for SXSW. more ›

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. more ›

Brighton's indie rock quartet have come a long way since 2003's The Decline of British Sea Power. The band's eccentric catalog has evolved through familiar Britpop idiosyncrasies on their debut, eased into more global pop hooks on the follow-up, Open Season, and now enters the great big world of stadium rockin' indie with this year's Do You Like Rock Music? more ›

If you crave constant flux, if you can’t stand it when a musician or band sticks with a formula for more than just one album, if you’re only happy when bands are being adventurous, exploratory, breaking new ground and taking risks; then Lucky might not be for you. But, if you’re content to be overcome by buckets and buckets of blinding harmonies and several wide smiles worth of hooky indie rock, then look no further. If too much pop sugar makes you gag and songs with repetitive choruses give you the shakes, then you're looking in the wrong place. But if this is you, what are you doing listening to Nada Surf anyway? Don’t say that you heard “Popular” and thought, “How innovative. I wonder what they’re going to come up with next.” more ›

Dear reader, we’re sure you’ll agree that it’s been too long since we’ve heard from our favorite Bear Den/music venue, The Chain Drive, up there on Willow Street. more ›

A healthy dose of semi-abrasive indie rock on a cold weekend night -- what more could you want? Milk and cookies, you say? Sorry, Emo's doesn't serve that. Saturday night, our beloved and hallowed Emo's plays host to Les Savy Fav, supported by Fatal Flying Guillotines and Attack Formation. more ›

Free Week is still kicking -- hard. There's a veritable horde of bands to catch tonight and tomorrow. more ›

On “Cruel Thing” the soul influence is obvious, as is a touch of Burt Bacharach, on this sweet and smooth song with female backup singers, some keyboard prances and gentle layers of strings. Singer/songwriter Perry Serpa does his best Marvin Gaye on the track off A Moveable Feast. The horns, woodwinds and strings all contribute to the triumphant chorus on “Through With Love,” which has Serpa declaring just that. more ›

It's been a big year for local acts. Big name bands like Spoon, Iron & Wine and Okkervil River made a huge impact on the independent music scene world-wide, while up and coming acts like White Denim and Moth!Fight! captured our attention at the indie rock water cooler all year long. As rising hopes and swelling egos swept the town alongside buzz and bravado, we parted ways with bands like SOUND Team and Clap!Clap!. more ›

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It's hard to explain in 2007 what it feels like for music to be both uniting and important. Having spent nearly three years of the '90s living in London, it's with honest nostalgia and wonder that we examine Rhino's The Brit Box. The set's mission is rather broad: it attempts to examine the whole of UK indie rock from 1985-1999 and devotes a disc each to '80s indie, shoegaze, Britpop, and the late '90s. One... more ›

Image via Big Hassle PR The Straylight Run w/ The Color FredMonday, December 3The Parish Room (214 East Sixth Street)$15, Doors at 7pm[info] | [tickets]Formed from the ashes of Taking Back Sunday, the Long Island group Straylight Run plays a blend of indie rock and chamber pop. Formed in 2003 by ex-TBS members Shaun Cooper and John Nolan, the duo left behind most of their emo influences when switching groups and recruited both Will Noon... more ›

What’s the Deal: They’re a local grand, alterna-pop group that has come from out of nowhere with a sound that’s just quirky enough for indie rock fans and also highly marketable. Their upcoming debut album, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, recorded and produced by local Lars Goransson arrives soon, and if they play their cards right the group will be set for certain heat-seeker status. Don’t hold it against them that the title is so very close to Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Sonically, the two don’t share many similarities. Soaring vocals hijack the focal point of many of the songs with their sometimes Muse-esque method, and spacey keyboards fill out the four-piece rock sound nicely. more ›

Image from Benko’s MySpace Benko, The Boxing Lesson, & The Story OfWednesday, November 21Stubbs (801 Red River)9 p.m. | $8[info] | [Benko MySpace] | [The Boxing Lesson MySpace] | [The Story Of MySpace]Thanksgiving is just around the corner but before you get stuffed and sleepy, get your long weekend started right on Wednesday evening. There is a mouth watering set of shows on the Austin schedule for the 21st. Extended details to follow in our... more ›

Highlights for this week: The Royal Family bids adieu to the east side with a giant Halloween bash, featuring DJ sets by Stay Gold, a costume contest, and a whopping 75% off the entire store inventory The Blanton Museum of Art opens up afterhours on Friday for its monthly B scene, with art from the American West and music by the Unfortunate Heads and DJ Spooky Texas Fun Fun Fun Fest takes over Waterloo Park... more ›

COLOUR REVOLT What’s the Deal: There’s a small college town in Mississippi where Colour Revolt is waiting like a swollen, porous sponge for someone to wring them out over the parched mouths of indie rock fans and critics alike. Right now, there is only the self-titled 6-song EP re-released in October of ‘06, but they’re currently in the final stages of recording their debut full-length. The EP, which caught ears at Spin and Stereogum... more ›

OFFICE is playing tonight at the Mohawk, in support of their most recent full-length, A Night at the Ritz. Born as a conceptual art piece, the five-piece has since become one of the most talked about bands in the Chicago area, playing big sounding indie rock tunes that are particularly "now," but with a touch of vintage, too. If you'd like to check them out, follow the jump to fill out the form and... more ›

Brighton, England's Fujiya & Miyagi were one of the darlings of SXSW 2007. Whether playing to a packed house at the Pitchfork Media party or drawing a sizable crowd at their own showcase, the band cut through the clutter of 1,300 acts to draw raves from bloggers and critics. With their cool Asian name (inspired by a vintage record player and, well, Pat Morita), rhythm-section based tunes, and subtle electronics, the band really sounds like... more ›

OURS TO ALIBI What’s the Deal: They’re a five-man mostly-instrumental indie rock group from Atlanta. Their atmospheric sounds and tri-force of guitar experimentalism is at times reminiscent to Texas favorite Explosions in the Sky, only with a little Sigur Rós-style guitar bowing. With no label support yet, they just released their second full-length, Beacons. Sometimes on the record, the group needs more than a few minutes to get across what they’re trying to say,... more ›

Think male/female indie harmonies, and what comes to mind? Mates of State? Well, try letting your lips get comfortable with Arthur & Yu. They are the childhood nicknames of Seattle multi-instrumentalists Grant Olsen (Arthur) and Sonya Westcott (Yu), and their debut, In Camera, is an organic, acoustic folk delight. Flute sounds, wood blocks, glockenspiel and plenty of tambourine along with conventional rock elements create a sound that’s minimal yet layered. In Camera is not only... more ›

Once in a while, we like to take some time to introduce you to bands -- both local otherwise -- that we think you'd enjoy. Le Diamont Brut aims to showcase those MySpace gems we hope to see shine. Recommend your local suggestions by emailing music@austinist.com. MiKenPike What’s the Deal: Don’t let the name discourage you - it’s a mash-up of the members’ names. Their story is one of the more miraculous musical 180s in... more ›

The Good Life Help Wanted Nights (Saddle Creek) The Good Life’s Tim Kasher, also of Cursive, is one of the most prolific and consistent romantic anti-heroes of modern indie rock. He’s released many albums under both titles as well as contributing to his peers’ projects like Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes (the singer of which got his start playing with Kasher in Commander Venus), and while much of his music is built on heart aching... more ›