Image from MySpace Trans Am, My Education @ MohawkThursday, Nov. 15The Mohawk (912 Red River)9 PM, All ages, $8[info] | [tickets]It's unfriggingbelievable that these guys are on tour with Tool right now. Seriously, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago, standing in crowded bar somewhere, listening to a song called "Ballbados", feeling like there must not be that many people in the world that want to hear instrumental, testosterone-driven synth-rock performed by some... more ›

Battles Mirrored (Warp) Battles combine John Stanier's (Helmet, Tomahawk) frenetic drumming with Ian Williams' (Don Caballero) signature finger-tapping guitar work and layer prog-metal keyboards along with everything from hip-hop and rap to free jazz to cartoonish vocal effects, creating what is probably going to be one of the most quietly influential albums of the year. Though the band has been around for over four years, Mirrored is their first full-length. Previous EPs have indicated... more ›

Originally intended as a side project for members of Bomblast, experimental trio Trans Am have long since produced innovative, electronic post-rock. The band has floated between instrumental noise sessions and vocoder furnished electro-synth over the course of their decade long career. Their eleventh full length, Sex Change (out now on Thrill Jockey) is a result of time spent in opposite corners of the world (Auckland and New York) with the final product created at Tiny Telephone Studios in San Francisco. (Recently reviewed by Austinist writer Matt DeWitt and formerly featured on NRT by Paige Maguire) more ›

MONDAY [16] film • "The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico" at Alamo Downtown books • Teen Sci-Fi writers Scott Westerfield and Justine Larbalestier at BookPeople (7:00pm) books • The Harlem Renaissance, a panel discussion with Cary D. Wintz, Martha Jane Nadell, and Shirley Thompson at The Harry Ransom Center (7:00pm) film • "A Clockwork Orange" at Alamo Downtown film • Jim Jarmusch's "Down By Law" at Alamo Village food • Central Market... more ›

Trans Am - Sex Change more ›

Jesu Conqueror (Hydra Head) J.K. Broadrick's past with Napalm Death and Godflesh might have those anxious for Conqueror baffled -- the dense ambient fog and softly managed vocal work might come as a shock. That being said, the album is undeniably heavy, chugging, distorted and dark. The marriage between the agonizingly paced guitars and the sheer depth of their tone in "Bright Eyes" can overpower the sensitively harmonized vocals and synths. As bands like... more ›

Austin certainly has its share of talented DJs. But here, they seem to take a back seat to live acts in terms of entertainment credibility. Sure, they aren't strumming the sounds out from strings and hard-pushed air, but Austin almost has a stigma against the DJ (let alone turntablist). They’re almost seen as ornamentation rather than the purveyors of music culture that they actually are, if allowed. more ›