We announced some time ago that Shearwater's Sub Pop debut Animal Joy would be out on Valentine's Day, and that the band were planning a tour but with no Texas stops announced as of yet. We can now report that Texas stops are now forthcoming, that the album is still due to drop on the 14th, and that pre-ordering now comes with goodies. more ›

Austin's own Shearwater bounced from Matador to Sub Pop, and have hinted that their new album - entitled Animal Joy and out Valentine's Day - is their most feral yet. "We're having trouble taming this one," says Jonathan Meiburg via press release, “but luckily, we don't really want to." They've also gone so far as to state that "[n]o strings or glockenspiels were touched during the making of this album." more ›

One of our best local bands has made another change mid-flight. Shearwater have announced a new recording contract with Sub Pop. According to their press release, the band are working on a new album that suggests a change in direction: "While they're not saying much about the record yet, singer Jonathan Meiburg suggests that it's going to be quite different from the band's past releases. 'We're having trouble taming this one," he says, “but luckily, we don't really want to.' Expect a new album from the band in early 2012." more ›

In the sensory overload of SXSW, bands can find it awfully tough to make a lasting impression. But in March, when the inevitable "who have you liked so far?" questions happened at parties and in beer lines, Blitzen Trapper were often the band that had everyone talking. The Portland-based sextet traffic in brilliantly revamped classic rock sounds that might shame Kings Of Leon into permanent hiding. You'll hear shades of Dylan, Neil Young, Big Star, and even Pavement in Blitzen Trapper's music. The charm here is that the group is shambolic and rough-hewn at times, but have the tunes to back up the noise. more ›

It’s as if the over-the-top angst of the last generation of alt-rock has been sublimated into something abstract and hidden, expressed through warped songcraft rather than screaming and feedback. 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 ›

Rogue Wave released their third full-length Asleep At Heaven’s Gate last year, leaving behind the safe haven of Sub Pop to find a new home at Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records. The album itself found the band conjuring up a textured mosaic of pop harmonies and poignant lyrics with the aid of sufficient guitars and keys. “Own Your Own Home” and “Like I Needed” were two of our favorite sleeper tracks of the past year, while single “Lake Michigan” was a lush pop hit never to be heard on everyday FM radio. (Watch the video on YouTube.) more ›

If you comb through news aggregate websites every morning waiting for your coffee to kick in like I do, you may have come across an odd little story about the recent demise of OiNK, an invite-only torrent site that put links to thousands of music files at one’s fingertips. It was a sprawling, cluttered site that demanded small download-to-upload ratios (1:1 was emphasized) and gave special privileges to users who donated to the site’s administrator,... more ›

Le Loup will just have to quell the audience’s hunger for Friday night indie pop with their ever-expanding experimentalism, as Saddle Creek’s Georgie James have canceled due to illness. But, any void caused by a lack of shimmering girl/guy harmonies at Mohawk will be quickly filled with handfuls of banjo, keyboards, toy instrument sounds and digital assistance. Echoey and breathy vocals entwine as hand claps overlap and the computer age openly embraces the simple, earthly... more ›

Asleep At Heaven’s Gate – Rogue Wave (Brushfire Records) The year 2006 was full of activity and turmoil for California’s Rogue Wave. There was some great news when founding member Zach Rogue had a baby daughter, but sadly, guitarist Gram LeBron’s father passed away and drummer Pat Spurgeon had a kidney transplant (and was understandably out of commission for a good amount of time.) Adding to the mayhem was the fact that Sub Pop was... more ›

Band of Horses Cease to Begin (Sub Pop) Editors Note: This review reflects the personal opinions and experiences of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of the Ist network as a whole. Enjoy! In your typical southern suburban town of Irmo in Columbia, South Carolina is where Band of Horses singer Ben Bridwell and I went to high school. Among the strip malls and neighborhood watch signs, between high school football games... 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 ›

If you learn nothing else about Brooklyn-based indie rock group Ladybug Transistor and the secrets behind their bittersweet pop, know this: their mothers are really proud. Of the three classic pearls of wisdom from mom - ‘Wait at least an hour to swim after eating,’ ‘Too much TV will rot your brain,’ and ‘Always remember to share.’ - Ladybug Transistor has at least one of those down to a mutually beneficial science. Lending their... more ›

The Supersuckers specialize in no holds barred rock n’ roll that features humorous lyrics and melodious hooks. Hailing from Seattle, the band has been around since the late '80s and has released numerous albums on various labels such as Sub Pop and (their own recording company) Mid-Fi. more ›

We know what you're thinking. Weren't The Shins just here last month at the same venue? And weren't they at Stubb's in September, and at ACL? The answers are yes, yes, and yes. But success means new fans, and the #2 Billboard debut of Wincing The Night Away has led to a headlining spot on the MTVu tour of college towns - thus, the Shins play Austin for the fourth time in a year... more ›

It would be hard to go wrong by attending Sub Pop's SXSW showcase on March 14th. Seattle's little label that can has released some awfully wonderful records in their day: Nirvana, The Shins, The Postal Service, and Band Of Horses to name just a few. Don't you owe these guys the benefit of the doubt? This year's Sub Pop party at Emo's IV will feature Oxford Collapse, Kinski, and Tiny Vipers, a one-woman band... more ›

SXSW 2007's music portion kicks off three weeks from today. We hope you are keeping hydrated, getting extra sleep, and listening to every MP3 you can find in order to plan your schedules. In an effort to help you, the festival goer, here are some great recent developments in the SX world: - Saturday brought the reveal of the SXSW showcase schedule and band bio pages. After a delayed start with the band list,... more ›

Sub Pop indie heroes The Shins are coming back to Austin right before SXSW shenanigans kick off. The folksy foursome just released their latest album, Wincing the Night Away, last month, and have since garnered heaps of critical and general acclaim. Noticeably fuller in production quality, the record exudes the same spectral, sunshiny pop brilliance of their prior works. We're diggin' it. For those of you more hardcore enthusiasts, get in on the presale... more ›

Welcome back kiddos, the year is kicking off with a shotgun bang. Head over to Waterloo or End of an Ear and ask for these albums: as far as we can tell, it's hard to go wrong this week. The Shins Wincing the Night Away (Sub Pop) Well, they're definitely stretching, and they're definitely getting more and more familiar with the studio, as "Phantom Limb" demonstrates: James Mercer is still having trouble falling asleep,... more ›

15. Mogwai - Mr. Beast (Matador) As ever, Mogwai manage to blend unadulterated post-rock weight to their shoegazer tendencies with tracks like "Glasgow Mega Snake" and "Folk Death 95," showcasing their ability to create anthems with no words. This is where Mr. Beast really shines, in between blistering chord progressions and gradual swings into corybantic climaxes. In some ways a throwback to earlier (and heavier) Mogwai material, Mr. Beast isn't merely a rock album.... more ›

Avoid the Noid. Or if you're Oxford Collapse, jump off of the side of a swimming pool and tackle the shit out of the (inflatable toy) Noid. A presumably tanked gentleman is depicted as doing such on the cover of the band’s most recent release, Remember the Night Parties (Sub Pop). In it, OxC reminds us that hard-hitting bands who know how to bring it 80s-style without simply ripping off Joy Division do, in... 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 ›

Perhaps ACL Fest wasn't the ideal venue for Sweden's José Gonzalez. His typically quiet Sunday afternoon set was marred by muddy sound and the strains of Jack Ingram bleeding off of a nearby stage. He jumped offstage after about 25 minutes, likely running for the exit and some air conditioning. more ›

New releases by Comets on Fire, Matthew Friedberger, Midlake, and more more ›

We can't help you with today's Tapes 'N' Tapes show over at Waterloo Records (since they're probably playing right now), but Austin's big indie retailer is chock-a-block with three more great in-stores this week. Tomorrow at 5pm, folkie/KEXP mainstay Alexi Murdoch will play tunes from his rather Nick Drake-ish disc Time Without Consequence, and as usual, there will be some free beer to drown your sorrows. Thursday at 5pm, Sub Pop favorites and Toronto... more ›

Earlier today, we reviewed New York comic Eugene Mirman's new CD "En Garde, Society!" Sub Pop Records has kindly provided two extra copies of the discs just for you, Austinist readers. more ›

In case you've missed it, there's a comedy revolution brewing in New York right now. Comics like Todd Barry, Demitri Martin, and Aziz Ansari have been drawing huge audiences of hipsters and regular folk alike with satire that owes far more to the silliness and irony of Steve Martin and Eddie Izzard than to the lowbrow Comedy Central/Def Comedy Jam nonsense that's infested comedy clubs for a decade. Among the brightest lights of the... more ›

* Image from www.damienjurado.com more ›

While some of us might be suffering from Spring allergies, that doesn't stop us from seeking out the best new music for you to enjoy. more ›