The Black Angels and Reverberation Appreciation Society have announced the location and dates for the 3rd installment of Austin Psych Fest.

Lineup is still pending announcement, but you can mark your calender for April 23rd, 24th, and 25th and set your sites on The Mohawk.

The Austin Psych Fest 2 DVD was recently released, featuring performances by A Place To Bury Strangers, Dead Meadow, Golden Animals, Wooden Shjips, and more. You can purchase HERE.

There must be something in the water in Athen’s, because the music that is coming out of that city continues to impress along with it’s rich history, and Twin Tigers have quickly become my latest Athen’s crush (sorry DC). The bands debut album Gray Waves, which had a digital release on Jan 19th, will see physical on March 2nd. Picking a single to release from this album surely has to be a challenge as this thing is solid from front to back. Amazon has it available for $5 now, if you haven’t gotten you paws on it yet.

I stress, and I mean STRESS..this album is the tits!

And…Twin Tigers are preparing their schedule for SXSW 2010 as well, and I’ll definitely keep you updated on these gigs.

MP3> Twin Tigers ‘Passive Idol’

There’s no shortage of love for the Scots in Frightened Rabbit here, and the anticipation of a new album and some live dates in ATX during SXSW is full blown swollen. The Winter of Mixed Drinks drops legal on March 1st, and this is the video for the second single off that roundy.

I’ll have SXSW dates for you as soon as possible.

Fun Fun Fun Fest has been setting the bar for “fun” in a music festival/event for the past couple of years, and with SXSW looming in the near future, I find myself looking forward the fall of 2010. March has somehow lost a bit of it’s appeal and luster.  For those of you who haven’t made it out to Fun Fun Fun Fest yet.. shame, and here’s what you have been missing…

Our good friends over at the fine Austin music blog Ultra8201.com are celebrating 4 years with a little style. The poster says it all. Come out for some fine entertainment, a lively crowd, and some good times with a few friends.

As if music geeks in Austin don’t have a full plate in March with SXSW and various other shows happening, The Flaming Lips add another event to the calendar on March 12th at the Austin Music Hall.

No one else does furries, confetti, fake blood, and tripped out music like the guys from Oklahoma, and you can bet that this show will be an event to remember. Chances are that tickets will move quickly.

On sale this Saturday Jan 30th @ 10 a.m. HERE

The highly anticipated release from Midlake The Courage of Others doesn’t become official until Feb 2nd, but any little bit fans can get their hands on at this point is needed. With the upcoming release, there will be a deluxe edition available packaged with a double LP, 45 rpm version of the record, a 32 page book, a live CD, and a short film DVD directed by Jason Lee. The trailer for the film follows:

A list of tour dates one being the recently released NX35 festival gig taking place in the band’s hometown of Denton:

Midlake Tour Dates
March
1 Tucson, AZ – Plush
2 Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
3 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
4 San Francisco, CA – The Great American Music Hall
5 Arcata, CA – The Van Duzer Theatre
6 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
7 Bellingham, WA – The Nightlight
10 Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
11 Denver, CO – The Bluebird Theater
12 Lawrence, KS – Jackpot Saloon
13 Denton, TX – NX35

Quite simply, Retribution Gospel Choir is a welcomed and what seems to be an inevitable extension of the slow-core outfit Low. Consisting of Low founder Alan Sparhawk and current Low bassist Steve Garrington, the only lineup difference is Eric Pollard on drums. Low percussionist/vocalist Mimi Parker isn’t completely out of the picture, as she makes her appearance on the sophomore release from the band, chiming in vocally.

I’ve always been somewhat of a casual fan of Low for a few years, latching on to the occasional song over the course of their quiet career, but recently became more intrigued with the band and it’s existence. The interest was sparked by the documentary of the band titled You May Need A Murderer released in 2008. It is an examination of a band, and a man that wrestle with the same demons that each of us endure while justifying a life in conflict with some religious leanings. A film that I highly recommend. In this film there is a scene where Sparhawk, who is married to Parker, is in what appears to be the basement of his house, practicing with what would seem to be Retribution Gospel Choir, while Parker attends to household chores and their children play outside. And while we may have seen glimpses of Sparhawks sonic tendencies in Low and even on the debut Retribution Gospel Choir record, this scene reveals Sparhawk’s electric guitar inner child, and it’s intriguing. Something inside me ached to see that come to fruition. To hear Sparhawk let loose on the electric outside of the pace and level of Low. And that is what 2 delivers.

The guitar reminiscent of Neil Young and Crazy Horse at times, while Sparhawk continues with the lyrical fodder that defines his unique views, opinions, and conflicts within the world that not only he lives in, but the one that we inhabit as well. It’s a quick 34.5 minutes of hearty, gritty rock in a time when many of us are dazzled by the bells and whistles of technology wearing the face of music.

Retribution Gospel Choir’s 2 out 1/26 on Sub Pop!

Shearwater have established themselves as a band who make beautiful music that is more cerebral and less inviting upon first listen, but always delivers upon time committed. The third release from the band The Golden Archipelago is already being pitched as “not an easy or immediate record”, confirming that the band is staying true to the musical path that they have chosen.

The Golden Archipelago is set for release digitally on Feb 16th and will see physical, both shiny and waxy, on Feb 23rd.

Released MP3 from upcoming album

MP3> Shearwater ‘Black Eye’

Shearwater tour dates Read more

The fine folks over at Austin Sound have stirred up some s*** in the music media scene with a recent blog post. Seems some were quick to jump into the fray without thinking through what they had actually read.  Honesty is always the best policy, so says my mother…

Pillow Queens Pack It In Tomorrow Night (And An Open Letter to Patrick Caldwell)

I’ve been posting a lot of videos lately it seems. Maybe it’s me pining for those days when MTV was actually about playing music videos, and I spent many an hour watching my music, especially those glorious 2 hours every Sunday night titled 120 Minutes.

Shout Out Louds are back with a new album to be release on Feb 23rd, titled Work. An appropriate title in a time rife with unemployment.

Tour for the band starts up in May…

Shout Out Louds – Fall Hard from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Spoon. If you don’t know who they are by now…..well, I wouldn’t know how to respond to that exactly.

The band is set to release it’s newest offering, and it’s first self-produced, titled Transference on Jan 19th. You can stream the entire album currently @ NPR’s “Exclusive First Listen”, which I’m doing right now. If you are looking for an album that is going to follow closely in the footsteps of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, you might be a bit surprised. Britt Daniel and Co return to the sound that established the band as one of the more original and creative indie band’s over the past 15 years. A bit raw and crafty in timing, while holding on to some of the stylistic songwriting that Daniel has achieved over the years. Upon first listen..Bravo!

In another collaboration with NPR, Spoon will play Stubb’s on March 17th as part of the station’s SXSW coverage.

More Spoon news to surface soon, I would suspect….

If A Place To Bury Strangers haven’t been influenced by early Cure, then the bass line on this track is a weird coincidence. One of my favorite songs off of the 2009 release Exploding Head, while the recording as a whole pretty much rules. The band makes a stop here in Austin @ The Parish, performing opening duties for the big bombastic Brit sounds of The Big Pink. That show takes place April 8th.

A few shots of frontman Oliver Ackerman working away at his other full-time gig, his own Death By Audio guitar pedal factory.