On The Killers' debut album Hot Fuss, the group became hugely popular by striving to be the next Duran Duran. Their second album, Sam's Town, found them grasping for a fusion of Bruce Springsteen and Queen, but coming up mostly empty save for two great singles ("When You Were Young" and "Read My Mind," both of which need no defense). Over Thanksgiving weekend, the band released Day and Age, which finally dropped them off at a musically appropriate spot: mid-'80s, pop star Bowie. The album literally begins by sounding like "Young Americans," and it makes a lot of sense: The Killers are more serious than the average pop group, but are too pretty and radio-friendly for indie rock. And despite some questionable grammar, there's no doubt that recent single "Human" will sound as great in a basketball stadium as it does in your car. To that end, the band arrives on a high after being announced as a Coachella 2009 headliner late last week - to put that in perspective, the other two are The Cure and Paul McCartney. more ›

The Mohawk presents a solid double bill of local pop this evening. The Lemurs have been writing new material over the last few months and a handful of those songs will be included in their set tonight. The band enjoyed a stellar 2007 -- highlights included licensing their music to NBC show Las Vegas (as well as an Australian indie flick called Newcastle) and touring with Canadian act Stars. This past Sunday, ME Television telecast a 2nd ME Live! featuring The Lemurs' shimmering melodies in concert at a recent La Zona Rosa gig. more ›

Our Indieroke night returns this Tuesday to The Mohawk. What started out as a one-off fling with rock stardom has turned into a monthly gathering of like-minded folks craving that fleeting moment of exhilaration. If you haven’t made it to one yet, we strongly recommend getting there in a timely fashion to get your name and song on the list early…and often. (You know who you are!) We will have multiple song list books going forward to ease that pain. more ›

A sad week for LAist as they lose their trusted and amazing editor Tony Pierce to the LA Times, but what a blast his last week was. He shared his 25 Favorite CDs of 2007 and wrote a great review of just a good movie, No Country For Old Men. At UCLA, thousands of students celebrated the end of their quarter by running around campus in their undies (lots of photos in a two-part photo essay, one, two). That wasn't the only photo essay either: Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy friends and Star Trek actors all joined in at the Writers Strike and KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas brought two nights of amazing bands that included Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park (Part I), Modest Mouse, Muse, Spoon and The Killers (Part II). Not only is L.A. a great music town, it has just been named the best city for bookish types. For those who are looking for something a little more active, American Gladiators are back (yes!) and if that's not enough, how about a Christmas gift of action and adventure? more ›

Hard-Fi - Once Upon A Time In The West (Atlantic): Not all rock music has to be serious. Our first thought was that this album was slickly overproduced to the point where it was impossible to be objective. But this was followed by the notion that it would sound great in the car. Trying again there, we found an album that jumps out of the speakers with beats pilfered from 90's Manchester bands, guitars straight... more ›

Spoon (6:30pm): So here's the thing about Spoon: they're a studio band. And on record, they're pretty much bulletproof for this decade. But the band also have a deserved reputation as a sometimes shaky live act, and such was the case for the show's beginning today. Britt Daniel and the band emerged without opening music or much ceremony, plowing right into a half-dozen tracks from new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. But they... more ›

ACL Previews Austinist Launches Dedicated ACL Page! Preview: Manchester Orchestra and Patterson Hood Preview: Ian Ball and the Little Ones Interview: Paolo Nutini ACL Band Clash, Round 2: The Killers Vs. Björk Weekly Features Tales Of Mere Existence Hots On #9: Sound Off New Release Tuesday: Frisell's Floratone The Argyle Academy New Movie Releases: The Invasion, Superbad, Death at a Funeral, and More Truesday: Friesday The Laurie Show News, Features, and More Travis County... more ›

Every fall, Austin looks forward to ACL Fest, and each year, there's always a point where two of your favorite bands are playing on different sides of the park at the exact same time. ACL Band Clash is a weekly series in which Austinist scribes Paige Maguire and Tom Thornton examine the worst ACL scheduling clashes, and try to provide good advice on finding a resolution. Well, good advice might be a stretch, but... more ›

It's tough to believe that Spoon have been playing in Austin for almost thirteen years. Few who saw them gig during their early, Pixies-inspired days would've predicted that in 2007, Spoon would have one of the most bulletproof catalogs in indie rock. Their entire tenure with Merge Records has been stellar, showcasing a band who found confidence in independence and the concept of a slow but deliberate artistic and commercial build. Britt Daniel hasn't... more ›

After a month of guesswork, the ACL Fest lineup is here. And it's quite a good one. While the wild speculation of headliners like Neil Young and Stevie Wonder once again proved false, the key items one sees this year are depth and balance. Having spent yesterday looking over the roster, we have the following observations on the 2007 edition of ACL. The Good: A Great Top 10. Had you told us that we'd... more ›

FRIDAY [13] fashion • RARE Magazine Spring Fling Fashion Show at The Belmont Hi-Lo (Moved due to rain) art/music • Take That!, a show of new images by Lance McMahan, plus music by Amanda Jones, Connie Ball, & Teddy and Marge at The Opera House (7-10pm) art • Hot and Cold: The Best of Canadian Contemporary Art at Art on 5th, 1501 W 5th (10am-6pm) art • Opening Reception for abstract paintings and encaustics... more ›

It’s only fair in today’s fast paced world that a share of high profile stadium rockers counters the growing success of indie bands. The Killers play the Frank Erwin Center these days while fellow “take over the world” hopefuls, My Chemical Romance have their sights set on similar success with the last year’s The Black Parade. A grand concept album with a dark storyline (largely about a dying cancer patient’s retrospective of his life),... more ›

Jason Quever combines anecdotal songwriting with lush folk-pop in Papercuts’ Can’t Go Back, out soon on Gnomonsong. The San Francisco based musician finds a unique balance between malaise and vigor on his new release. Moody narratives are married with layered orchestrations to conjure a somewhat manic depressive feel. The album opener, “Dear Employee” ends with resigned refrains of “I don’t need you no more” while the possibly tongue-in-cheek “Unavailable” repeats “He’s stepping out for a... more ›

The second album curse has felled bands both big (The Killers) and small (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) in recent months. The short attention span and indie band hype created by the music blogger community only add to the pressure of the big follow-up. It is a relief, then, to report that Bloc Party emerge relatively unscathed on A Weekend In The City, their follow-up to 2005's wonderful Silent Alarm. A wider (and louder) sonic palate and reach has emerged from the band, as they attempt to grow yet retain what we enjoyed about them to begin with. more ›

These teal-shirted, white denim-vested tiger-lovers have been popping up around town since August, piquing our curiosity as to their legitimacy. Touted by some as the “best new” in Austin, The Laughing are set to release their first EP Tiger Cry tomorrow night at the historic Victory Grill. We’d hate to just hype (since we haven’t seen them yet), so we’ll do our best to give it to you straight. The EP is dance-rock fun.... more ›

Badly Drawn Boy - Born In The UK (Astralwerks): If Talking Heads were last year's band to emulate, The Boss is certainly the sound of 2006. After seeing a great Springsteen record from The Hold Steady and a suspect one from The Killers, we now find Brit Damon Gough wrapping himself in the English flag and turning up the shiny, Human Touch-style production. Unfortunately, Badly Drawn Boy's main charm were his lo-fi early songs... more ›

Loud enough for college parties but cute enough to go on your sister’s bedroom wall, sharp enough for wizened indie kids but soft enough for your mom, the endlessly promotable Las Vegas quartet The Killers have balanced themselves between the normally exclusive worlds of rock and pop with a headline-ready alacrity unseen since the heyday of Duran Duran. Their second CD, Sam’s Town, came out Tuesday, and will no doubt outsell everything in existence. more ›

Last weekend was pretty intense show-wise, if you're like us, you're ready to crawl in bed with your headphones and listen to something new from End of an Ear or Waterloo's new release wall. Well, here's what you've got to choose from: The Decemberists The Crane Wife (Capital) Already being described as the album of the year in some circles, Crane Wife marks the Portland-based Decemberists' major label debut with themes familiar to the... more ›

Yea, we know, you’re tired, you’re rundown, you couldn’t possible attend another music festival for at least another year or so. Think again, friends. Just when you thought it was safe to crawl back into your cubicles, your only musical salvation coming from the tinny speakers built into your desktop, we present Vegoose. Taking place the last weekend in October, the festival in Sin City will feature Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Widespread Panic,... more ›

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"Psychedelics are almost irrelevant in a town where you can wander in a casino any time in the day or night and witness the crucifixion of a gorilla.*" We know you people love your fests, and while ACL may be a tough bill to beat, sometimes it's nice to get out of town. The Vegoose Music Festival in Las Vegas combines gambling, strippers, soon-to-be divorced men, all night parties and rock n' roll into... more ›

Like we mentioned last week, Z-Trip is coming back to Austin this Friday as part of the Breakthrough Emerging Artists Tour (B.E.A.T.). He'll be spinning with Austin's DJ Nick Nack, as well as Tats and Thantos, over at Elysium from 9pm-2am. [Presale Tickets - $10] We're giving away a few spots on the guestlist for the show. Enter below: First Name: Last Name: Email Address: This week's AV Bits (not all artists below are... more ›

The police are searching for murderers who shot and killed two people in a house in North Austin early Thursday morning. Responding to 911 calls around 4am on Thursday morning, police found the bodies of Bertin Perez and Pedro Solis. Solis was dead at the scene and Solis died soon after arriving at Brackenridge hospital. Police are talking to multiple witnesses from this generally quiet neighborhood. Family members and friends of the victims are obviously distraught and completely puzzled as to why anyone would have wanted to harm these two men. The Solis family is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killers. more ›

Apparently Austin radio station 101X refuses to let its 10th birthday come and go on one day. They're having a series of bands play on different dates in honor of the celebration. Lucky for us, one of the bands is The Killers. more ›