Although Sigur Rós' latest record, Heima, isn't new today, it's worth mentioning as the year winds down. The undeniably beautiful songs play a major role in the experience of the release, but we'd be remiss not to share the highest quality version of the movie's trailer with you as well. (It's below the cut.) The movie follows the band around their native land playing free concerts in picturesque settings, giving the band a 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,......

If you’re looking to expand your knowledge of Icelandic bands beyond the normal Björk, Sigur Rós, and Múm, then you needn’t look further than Emo’s Lounge Friday night. Benni Hemm Hemm come bearing orchestral pop tunes from their chilly island nation with titles like “Snjorljossnjor.” This soft-spoken band comprised of between 8 and 17 revolving-door musicians features conventional rock elements as well as a full horn section. Austin natives Loxsly may not be able......

James LaValle is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist who has been circling the globe and projecting songs into the void as The Album Leaf since the late 90's, when his former project, Tristeza, disbanded. His songs are warm, earthy, and simultaneously intricate, ambient and modern. His albums are private moments of yearning, loss, hope, and simple pleasures translated for public intimacy. Simply put ... LaValle is one of the most original and confident songwriters of......

SXSW has truly built a strong reputation around the world, and every year various countries send their top-notch artists to Austin to display their nation’s talent. Scandinavia is one such area with a booming music scene. Danish band Mew and Sverige’s own Loney, Dear (Emil Svanängen) will bring their best to the festival this year. Finland, too, is doing its bit, with the Finnish Moosic Tour. Featuring punk rock from Disco Ensemble and electro-pop from......

We don't know about you, but by the third day of our recent ice storm, we had a serious case of cabin fever. A few more days in chilly isolation, and we might have completely lost our marbles. So we can only imagine what it's like to live in the land of ice; a frosty, desolate country where the mercury rarely pushes past 60 degrees and where the largest city has less than a......