I don’t really know much about this band, but have always wanted to check them out just because of their name.

Cold Cave have an album in store for release on the Matador label. You still  have a while to wait though, as the upcoming release Cherish The Light Years doesn’t come legal until May 5th. April sees the band hitting the road in support of the Kills, and if you haven’t already scoured some leaked copy of the album, you can catch most of it live.

MP3> Cold Cave ‘The Great Pan Is Dead’

Tour dates Read more

Phosphorescent produced one of the more enjoyable albums and live shows that I had the privilege of experiencing last year. The band released it’s fifth full-length titled Here’s to Taking It Easy on the Dead Oceans label, and damn if that ain’t a fine statement to live by now and then.

The band just announced a huge tour, which takes them around the world with notable festival appearances. The best news is, that they will be making a stop here in ATX at the perfectly suitable Parish. I promise you, it will sound awesome, and you’ll talk about it for months after.

May 5th @ The Parish…that’s Cinco de Mayo to all my Mexican amigos.

And I love this song

MP3> Phosphorescent ‘The Mermaid Parade’

Tour dates Read more

The influence that Echo & the Bunnymen have had on much of today’s modern music, is probably well understated and in many cases not even recognized. I had the opportunity to see these guys in San Diego with Gene Loves Jezebel and New Order..yep, I walk with a cane and qualify for social security.

Well, the E & B are back, and are plotting a short North America tour to play two of their classic albums back to back, Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here. Check out this clip of the band performing “Stars are Stars” in Liverpool this past December and get a taste for what unfortunately isn’t heading close to Austin. Might be time for a little trip this May. Tour dates follow.

Echo & the Bunnymen – Stars are Stars (Live) from Girlie Action on Vimeo.

Echo & The Bunnymen 2011 North American Tour

5/9  Boston, MA  @ Paradise Club
5/11 Washington DC @ 9.30 Club
5/12 Philadelphia ,PA@ Trocadero
5/13 New York,NY @Irving Plaza
5/16  Toronto,Canada  @Phoenix Theatre
5/17  Chicago,IL  @ Vic Theatre
5/19  San Francisco ,CA @ Warfield Theatre
5/20  Las Vegas,NV @ Red Rock Casino
5/21 Los Angeles, CA  @Club Nokia Theatre
5/22  Anaheim, CA @ House Of Blues

Ah, yes. Just speaking about this band, for which I have a special place in my little music heart. It took me awhile to understand the simplistic beauty that Low produces, but once you slow yourself down a bit, and listen, the gesture is greatly rewarded.

Low will release C’mon, April 12th on Sub Pop Records. And of course there is a pre-order for CD and LP with an advance stream for those who do so.

Recorded in an old church in Deluth, MN, Low front-man Alan Sparhawk puts to words his take on what is being called one of the most accessible and affecting albums by the band.

“Warm, pretty, large like Nashville without the country. Mim and I are talking to each other in the lyrics, sometimes it’s not pretty, but it’s as honest as love.”

And, as expected a tour is set to launch starting here in Austin, TX with an appearance during SXSW 2011. Can’t wait.

Check out the first track from the album titled “Try To Sleep” and tour dates after the jump.

MP3> Low ‘Try To Sleep’

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I can’t say that the cancellation of Devo for last year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest wasn’t a big letdown for this little blogger, but true to their form (or some sort of contract stipulation) the Fun Fest folks are bring the thumb’s intact, 80′s troubadours to Austin. Devo is set to play the new ACL Live stage on March 27th with local multi-media, beat weavers Octopus Project. I can’t say that I’m nearly as excited about the possibility of seeing the band on the ACL Live stage compared to the option of seeing them in Fun Fest atmosphere, but it is what it is. And it’s a 101x sponsored show…

Tickets on sale Feb 3rd @ 10 a.m.

Crazy for the cats it seems Best Coast’s Beth Consentino might be, aside from her Wavves crush. Lots of them in this video for “Crazy For You” which may be directed to said cats or that aforementioned crush. Speaking of, both Best Coast and Wavves are doing it on the road, with a date here in Austin soon. 1/25 to be specific, and at the soon to disappear outside stage at Emo’s. Tickets

Video please…

Once lauded as one of the loudest bands around, Glasgow’s Mogwai are prepping to release their seventh studio album, an album that might move the band from it’s relative obscurity in regards to more mainstream audiences, to less obscurity. Maybe even land a car commercial.

Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is set for a Feb 15th release on the Sub Pop label here in North America with release in the UK taking place on the band’s own Rock Action Records. I’ve been spinning the recording for awhile now, and if you’ve never been a fan of Mogwai this album is a great introduction to a band that established a genre that many a band have embraced, even one of Austin’s own. I’ll let you figure that one out.

MP3> Mogwai ‘San Pedro’

The band takes it’s sonic assault on the senses on the road, with a stop here in ATX at Stubbs

North American Tour Dates Read more

Smith Western’s are barely legal enough to by a drink in bar, but the band is prepping to release it’s sophomore LP Dye It Blonde this upcoming Jan 18th on Fat Possum Records. The video for the band’s single “Weekend” surfaced recently along with a stream for the the second single “All Die Young”. A quick listen suggests that these Chicago based kids spent a little time in their basements, spinning tunes from the ’70′s Glam-rock era, ala Bowie and Bolen.

Check out the video, click to stream “All Die Young’ and peruse the tour dates for your city and a visit from Smith Westerns.

Stream “All Die Young”

Smith Westerns – Weekend from Fat Possum Records on Vimeo.

01/18 Brooklyn NY Glasslands #
01/27 Lexington, KY Al’s Bar*

01/28 Nashville TN The End*
01/29 Knoxville TN Pilot Light*
01/30 Chapel Hill NC Local 506*
01/31 Athens GA 40 Watt Club*
02/01 Atlanta GA Drunken Unicorn*
02/03 Orlando FL Backbooth*
02/04 Tallahassee FL Club Downunder

02/05 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon*
02/06 Houston TX Fitzgeralds*
02/07 Austin TX Emos *
02/08 Dallas TX The Loft*
02/10 Phoenix AZ Rhythm Room*
02/11 Los Angeles CA Echo*
02/12 Costa Mesa CA Detroit Bar*
02/13 San Francisco CA Bottom of the Hill*
02-15 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
02-16 Vancouver, British Columbia – Biltmore Cabaret
02-17 Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe
02-18 Boise, ID – Neurolux
02-19 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
02-21 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
02-22 Kansas City, MO – The Record Bar
02-23 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room
02-24 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
02-25 Madison, WI – The Frequency
02-26 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
02-28 Toronto, Ontario – Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
03-01 Montreal, Quebec – La Sala Rossa
03-02 Boston, MA – Great Scott
03-04 Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel

03-16 – 03-19 Austin, TX – SXSW

The little band that landed the big deal with very minimal amount of effort, hits the road with a stop here in ATX for SXSW, although unconfirmed as official SXSW talent. But, how could SXSW not have the band that has accomplished the almost impossible in today’s music environment? Cults will undoubtedly go down in indie rock history as the band that landed a recording deal with Columbia records while only having a few songs posted on their Bandcamp page and little less than a year of touring. I have to admit that the band’s performance at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 was a standout next to indie darlings Best Coast and Wavves, but what’s the real deal with this deal? Soon to find out as the band hits the road, with one of the most grueling tests of a band’s stamina happening in March. SXSW.

Hopefully this schedule means that Small Black has it’s sites set on SXSW as well.

MP3> Cults ‘Most Wanted’

Many enjoyed the low-fi, sunny fuzz sounds of L.A.’s Best Coast this year via their 2010 release Crazy For You, to the extent that the album made frequent appearances on many “best of” lists for last year. Watch the Bethany Consentino fronted trio play the single from the release, “Boyfriend” on Jimmy Fallon. Unfortunately, you have to make your way through the entire show to get to the performance.

Best Coast will be hitting the road, with a date here in Austin at Emos on 1/25 along with the boyfriend fronted Wavves. Don’t miss the few remaining opportunities to experience your favorite bands on the Emo’s outside stage, as the end is near…it’s truly sad.

Best Coast tour: Read more

Slowcore outfit Low are set to release their next full-length recording C’mon early 2011, but to hold the fans over until, they have released a free live EP recorded at St. Catherina Church in the Netherlands city on January 22, 2009. You can get the download a bit further down this post. It’s a definite recommend for Low fans.

The band has a few dates listed to close out this year, while we patiently await the new release, which will feature Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and Trampled by Turtles banjo player, Dave Carroll. Best news I’ve heard today so far.

Live at Eindhoven EP:

01 Monkey
02 Silver Rider
03 July
04 Laser Beam

Full steam ahead is what Neon Indian seemed to have going for awhile, but where are we now? Relocating to the hipster equivalent of the Garden of Eden (Brooklyn) from our lovely Austin, Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo has something to prove over the next year. He gets a start with some early year tour dates, and this recent video release for “Mind Drips”.

Neon Indian tour dates

Australia:

Wednesday, December 29 Revolver Upstairs
Prahran/Melbourne

Thursday, December 30 Pyramid Rock Festival
Phillip Island

Friday, December 31 No Years
Brisbane Powerhouse
Brisbane

Saturday, January 1 Field Day
The Domain
Sydney

Monday, January 3 Happy Mondays
Level 7 Curtin House
Melbourne

US:

Thursday, February 3rd W/ Flaming Lips
Palladium Ballroom
Dallas, TX

WTF?

People really do suck sometimes. We hear about this quite a bit here in the U.S. but in Italy? This is a press release from a band representative:

As you may have heard by now, A Place To Bury Strangers were midway through a three week long, 18 show tour across Europe, when on Friday, 12/3, their van stolen in Rome, Italy outside the Blackout club in the venue’s parking lot.

The band’s gear was safe in the venue, but 1000 Euros in merch money, all of their suitcases and clothes, a lot of merch (t shirts, etc.) Dion’s New Zealand Passport, the band’s Macbook Pro laptop and numerous personal items and various other gear were in the van at the time of the theft.

Saturday’s show in Pordenone, Italy and Monday’s show in Bilbao, Spain have been canceled.

We’ve rented a new van in Rome and the tour should resume normally in Nantes on Tuesday.  Sorry to the people of Pordenone and Bilbao for the cancelled shows.  We’d only had to cancel a show one before in three and a half years of round the clock touring, so hopefully this will never happen again.

We’ve set up a paypal link for donations.  The items stolen from the van were worth over 15K and that doesn’t include the excess van rental charges, plane fare, Passport fees, cancelled shows, etc.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=AU3QZ2RECTE3E

People really do suck sometimes…

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San Francisco’s Birds & Batteries are stopping by Mohawk here in Austin on Wednesday 12.1 setting up shop for a show with locals The Authors and Sleep Good. Pretty solid triple bill happening the first day of December.

Interested in checking out the show and scoring a healthy Birds & Batteries merch package?

This is what is up for grabs:

“Birds & Batteries Holiday Prize Package” – tickets to the Mohawk show for one winner & guest + merch. That would be 2 tickets to the show Wed night, the new CD, the new beautiful 12″ vinyl (comes w/ download card), the tour poster and postcard. A pretty sweet deal!

Email me for a chance to win this package. Winner will be randomly be selected by my fish Phil and will be contacted Wednesday just before noon. Merch package to be picked up at the show from the band.

ENTER HERE w/Birds & Batteries Contest in subject line

“Panorama” is the third full-length from San Francisco based Birds & Batteriesand their finest work to date. The new album is a rare mix of organic and electronic, pop and experimental and an effortless play of surprising elements.

Birds & Batteries 2009 EP “Up To No Good” showed singer / bandleader Michael Sempert exploring synth-funk and the influences of Bowie’s ”Scary Monsters” and P-funk.  On “Panorama,” his love for artists like Harry Nilsson, ELO, and David Byrne shines through, and he trades in a bit of the irony for empathy.  Sempert might as well be a scientist in his next life, as he is able to blend his classic folk-ish voice with synth textures for down right futuristic results. When pressed for a simple summary, he’s described the sound as “Art-rock meets Tom Petty.”  Basically it’s not all that easy to define. Sempert is joined by Christopher Walsh (guitar), Jill Heinke (bass), and Brian Michelson (drums).

MP3> Birds & Batteries ‘We’re An Industry’

Just as the excitement was starting to swell with me in regards to Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010, and mostly because of this band, Devo cancels their tour including their Fun Fun Fun Fest appearance. Due to an injury suffered by guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, the band is forced to stop the show. Severing a tendon in your thumb is a pretty good reason for a guitar player to not be able to go on with the show. Speedy recovery Bob.

Aside from losing one of their big headliners, the fest also recently lost the Dum Dum Girls due to a family emergency. A member of Crocodiles is married to the frontwoman of the band Dee Dee who is the member having to deal with the emergency, so they have canceled the rest of their tour as well.

Sounds like ACL a few years ago…how will the funster festers bounce back?