Image from MySpaceMICE AND RIFLES What’s the Deal: It’s impossible to hear a band name like this one from this Austin sextet and not be curious enough to give it a listen. If you do, you’ll find an alt. country group making the most of pedal steel, acoustic guitar and a singer with a unique and brawny voice. The group may have a classic country sound found in between the twang and Great Depression subject... more ›

One of Scotland's best voices, Emma Pollock has been creating dark and beautiful indie-pop anthems for the better part of 15 years. As primary vocalist of The Delgados, she was a force behind an under-appreciated but consistently brilliant group that successfully walked a sonic line between The Pixies, The Sundays, and Mercury Rev. When the group disbanded in 2005, Pollock took a short time away from music before signing with 4AD Records and heading back... more ›

If you're a fan of dreamy indie-pop and you haven't spent time with a Sparklehorse album, watch out. The North Carolina-based Mark Linkous and his band play hazy, epic music that is worth getting to know. All of the proper credits are here: production from Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev mainstay Dave Fridmann, a guest spot from Danger Mouse, and even some added credibility via a collaboration with Tom Waits. Add this to prior work... more ›

Please excuse the abbreviated NRT this week: we'll see you next week with a biggie size. Naturally, the indie world is buzzing with talk about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!'s latest, Some Loud Thunder, and all we can think of is how those poor kids have a lose-lose situation on their hands. They enjoyed a couple years worth of undeniable popularity and interest surrounding an album that, as it was sold by the thousands... more ›

The holidays are over, there's an all you can eat grackle buffet downtown, and it's January 9, the first proper release week of 2007. How fitting: the damned Canadians are dominating it. Neko Case Live From Austin, TX (New West Records) Though Case's recording from Austin City Limits is four years old (recorded originally in 2003), it stands as a testament to the unequivocal talent those not in the audience that night were privy... more ›

Here's the skinny on what's new at End of an Ear and Waterloo today: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead So Divided (Interscope) So Divided might sound divided to your tender and oh-so-spoiled by Austin scene-drenched ears, but the third major-label release from the hometown favorites doesn't appear to be divided enough to disrupt. Epics interspersed with New Pornographers-ish pop treats, multi-influential backdrops and lots and lots of atmosphere make... more ›

GoogTube! GoogTube! GoogTube! Here's what's new at the record store: Annuals Be He Me (Ace Fu) Because of (or in despite of) their popularity with the blogging set, Annuals' highly anticipated album, Be He Me, is sure to be a hit this week. For fans of Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and yes, even Animal Collective, Annuals add a bit of punch to the whole "we're pretending to be lo-fi but really we spent... more ›

Hey, did you hear that Google bought YouTube? No? Well, then go buy some records. Damien Jurado And Now That I'm In Your Shadow (Secretly Canadian) October's releases seem to be in touch with the temperature drop (however small) and shift of mood. Damien Jurado's latest offering is the perfect example: dark, sparing treatments on the decline of romance in the Midwest, a disagreement between friends in the back of a pickup truck, and... more ›

England's Flotation Toy Warning is a band of inventors, academics, and a former flying machine test pilot - most telling of their avant-garde leanings, it was while discussing exotic butterflies over dinner that the five "discovered a common interest in astrophonics and decided to become a musical item." Their debut album, "Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck" - released by Austin's own Misra Records - is what would have resulted had Johann Sebastian Bach... more ›