2008’s Rook earned every bit of the considerable praised heaped upon it, and The Golden Archipelago will not disappoint, though that obnoxious term “grower” will likely be thrown about; Golden Archipelago has left behind some of the down-to-earth populism of Rook en route to an ephemeral, remote tribalism. Though Meiburg’s voice, swooping as agile as a swallow, is here as always at the helm, the most immediate leap forward to be heard on the new album is Thor Harris’ brilliant percussion more at the foreground. There is always turbulence just under the placid surface of Shearwater songs, but Meiburg’s voice never cedes control, holding everything in place as if by sheer magnetic force. So the primal pull of the cerebral Shearwater sound falls entirely to the drums.Regardless of longtime fans’ ultimate album preferences, there’s common cause to celebrate that The Golden Archipelago more than any other before approaches the dynamics of the Shearwater sound live. more ›

Today, we're happy to announce that in February, Austinist, WOXY and Matador will present a three night music extravaganza at Beerland to celebrate the January release of Casual Victim Pile. For $5 a night, you'll be treated to performances by all but two of the bands featured on the album (The Teeners have since split up and Tre Orsi will be out of town). Check out the tentative lineups and links to all the band's music at the Matablog. more ›

Matador has released another Shearwater track: "Black Eyes" (mp3). This is the second mp3 the label has released in anticipation of The Golden Archipelago, due on Feb. 15. more ›

Last night, in his sleep, garage rocker Jay Reatard died. more ›

Shearwater will be at the Parish on May 7 to support the release of their latest full-length, The Golden Archipelago (February 23). more ›

Today, we're happy to announce that in February, Austinist, WOXY and Matador will present a three night music extravaganza at Beerland to celebrate the January release of Casual Victim Pile. For $5 a night, you'll be treated to performances by all but two of the bands featured on the album (The Teeners have since split up and Tre Orsi will be out of town). Check out the tentative lineups and links to all the band's music at the Matablog. more ›

On January 26, Matador will release Casual Victim Pile (an anagram for Live Music Capital), a regional compilation focused on Austin bands (along with a pair from Denton). The compilation features Woven Bones, Harlem, the Golden Boys, the No No No Hopes, the Young, the Distant Seconds, Follow that Bird and many more. You can pre-order your copy now, but if you can't wait to sample the collection, look no further. Grab "The Ghosts That Wake You" (mp3) by Follow That Bird and "First 48" (mp3) by Love Collector now. more ›

Shearwater are gearing up for a very busy 2010 supporting their upcoming release, The Golden Archipelago. Most recently, they released a preview of the album, which also gave fans a glimpse at the so-called Golden Dossier, the album's hopeful accompaniment. Today, we got word via the band's Facebook that the dossier will be handled through Kickstarter instead of the label, Matador. more ›

Great news for Shearwater fans - Matador records has announced details about their forthcoming LP, entitled The Golden Archipelago. more ›

• Sherwood Cryer, 83, Co-Founder of the Pasadena nightclub Gilley’s—the venue featured in the film “Urban Cowboy’s—goes to that great honky-tonk in the sky.
• They’re no angels: Katrina victims whom Oprah helped get new homes on “Angel Lane” are in court. They allegedly bilked rent money out of FEMA after moving into their new homes!
• When we read about jewelry being stuffed into bears, we immediately wondered if this crime had anything to do with the plushophile community. (It didn't, that's just the first thing we thought of.)

Legendary NYC band Sonic Youth dropped The Eternal (their 16th studio album) on Matador Records today. We’re guessing that you’re not going to make it to the band’s official release event in California but fear not because Matador, Waterloo Records, and yours truly are proud to present The Eternal - Austin: A Sonic Youth Release Party here in town at The Mohawk. Join us from 5 to 8 p.m. this evening to listen to the new record while taking advantage of some recession-friendly drink specials at the bar. We’ll be giving away a couple of copies of The Eternal; a DJ set by Gerard Cosloy (Air Traffic Controllers) is also on the schedule. And since you’re going to love the album oh so much, Waterloo Records will be on hand to allow you to purchase the CD and LP instantly. more ›

Gerard Cosloy is one of our favorite Austin transplants, a busy man that finds time to act as Co-President at Matador Records, keep up with a (mostly) sports blog at Can't Stop the Bleeding, and perform with his most recent musical collaboration, the Air Traffic Controllers. Naturally, we were curious as to what he was into in 2008. more ›

More than fifteen years into their career, Stereolab have released their first true pop album, Chemical Chords, which all but throws out the art house once and for all and high-tails it for the house party. The London band are textbook example of 90s critical darlings who have evaded huge mainstream success but still managed to spawn millions of (similarly Moog-endowed) pretenders, most of whom lack the whimsy and experimental chops that have marked the band as happily unconventional since their first appearance in 1991 with the Super 45 EP. more ›

Why one of the world's greatest living songwriters--not punk songwriters, I mean out of all of them--continues to use a goofy stage name he came up with when he was 15 is a mystery for the ages. Then there's the mushy English accent, the infatuation with cock-rockin' Flying V guitars... But the man his mother knows as Jay Lindsey has spent over a decade recording symphonic lo-fi pop punk almost entirely by himself--his discography on Wikipedia runs about three pages--so we can assume there's some kind of method at work. more ›

Matador Records will release Shearwater’s fifth LP Rook on June 3rd but that isn't the only recent good news regarding the eclectic Austin act. The band is scheduled to play a number of cities in May including a couple of very special shows in New York and Austin. The New York gig on May 5th at the Florence Gould Hall kicks off the tour before the band makes its way back to Austin for a night at The Parish on the 29th. Both shows will feature a complete performance of Rook with accompanying strings, woodwinds, trumpets, and harp for our listening pleasure. Of course, some older material can be expected as well. You can read the official Matador Records press release here and buy tickets for the Austin concert here. The ticket price of $15.50 seems to be a steal for this exceptional event. And that’s not all -- a limited 7" that includes a cover of Talk Talk’s “The Rainbow” will be available at both shows. Bonus round! more ›

Sunday night may usually be time for relaxation, for winding down your weekend's bunch-o'-bliss and preparing for the drudgery of Monday and all the muck that follows it. Sunday night may usually mean propping yourself up with a stick, so exhausted from all yer football-inspired whoopin' and hollerin'. Sunday night may even be a time of penance. But this Sunday night, get ready for a change of gears and an old-fashioned opportunity to headbang, because Dead Meadow and Black Mountain are delivering a sea of drums and guitars and outright ferocity to this usually staid part of the week. more ›

We love animals. In fact, we're secretly training to be EAMTs (Emergency Animal Medical Technicians) so that we can save kittens and turtles and gerbils. We aren't alone in this love, however, as is evident by the longstanding trend of animal-centric band names: The Eagles, The Unicorns, Tortoise, Grizzly Bear, The Animals, Super Furry Animals, Band of Horses, Cat Power, Le Tigre, Modest Mouse, Gorillaz, Doves, Eels, Sparklehorse, and now -- The Ponys. Ok,... more ›

For some of you, SXSW is an obsession. For others...not so much. While we're rather immersed in the whole SXSW experience at Austinist, we know that many of you just want to take in a free or cheap event or two during the festival to experience the thing. No problem. Here's a list of events featuring local merchants, community organizations, and radio stations that will allow you to casually dip a toe in the... more ›

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased online. Dead Meadow perform on the Indie stage at 4:30pm. -- The Editors Any new recordings that we can expect soon in the form of a new full length? Steve Kille: We are... more ›

Indie/hippie hobos nomads Brightblack Morning Light released their self-titled sophomore album just weeks ago, and while we didn't particularly care for it, others seem to generally dig 'em. The duo -- "Nabob" (Nathan Shineywater) and "Rabob" (Rachael Hughes) -- started back in 2002 with a split 7" shared with Bonnie Prince Billy (aka Will Oldham, among others). Since then, they've signed to Matador Records, toured with the likes of Joanna Newsom, Vetiver, and Gojogo, and... more ›

. The album finds them locked away in Glasgow, in their custom-built studio, The Castle of Doom, able to take the time to record, listen, re-record, and repeat until satisfied. more ›

There is a parallel universe where metal is still king. Nirvana never happened. Black shirts and acid-washed jeans are still in style, but most importantly, Bob Rock never worked with Metallica. In this parallel universe, Metallica still pays homage to Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy. The music is loud and fuzzed out and it kicks your ass – hard, and it wears a mullet – while driving a 1985 red Firebird. And in this... more ›