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Reviews Archive
Two Girls In Town: Knuckle Rumbler’s 7th St. Shindig (by Ashley Cass & Rachel Donnan)
Tuesday night was one of those evenings which made us remember why we love Austin. With an ACL taping for The Roots and John Legend, Chromeo at Stubb's, Holy Ghost! at (Stubb’s) and Malverde, there was more quality live entertainment on one weekday night than most cities see on a weekend. While we didn’t make our way to any of the above mentioned, we did hit up the Knuckle Rumbler’s 7th street block-party. With side by side dance parties at Red 7 and Beauty Bar, seventh was where it was at… on this particular Tuesday Boozeday.
The Zoo, an afterparty for the Chromeo show held at the Beauty Bar, featured DJ sets by locals Hoodie Allen, Premode and Brooklyn based Sammy Bananas .
Vanessa Gonzales, known for her blog Sailor Legs and promo work with spiced rum Sailor Jerry’s (one, you’re done.. particularly at The Side Bar) began her evening at Beauty Bar with an intention to continue on to Red 7 and see Questlove (drummer for The Roots) on the 1’s and 2’s.
“Prepmode is probably one of the best DJs in this city, all of his mixes are really clean, he’s one of few DJs that I’ve never heard train wreck a mix. He’s skilled and his track listings are amazing. After this, I’m heading down the block to see Questlove. He is one of the sickest guys in the game. You think hip-hop drummers, you think Questlove…that’s just it,” said Gonzales. “His vinyl collection must be amazing. First time I saw The Roots play, I feel in love. It was like 100 f-cking degrees outside at Zilker but it still remains one of the best sets I’ve seen at ACL.”
Sammy Bananas on the decks at Beauty Bar.
Fri Aug 27 2010 · Posted in Reviews
Two Girls In Town: Monday Night at 2010 Austin Fashion Week (by Ashley Cass)
Despite making a personal promise to lay low on Monday, I found myself on the Eastside for a side-by-side Fashion Week Extravaganza. The two parties were in celebration of Austin Fashion Week, or SXSWest 5th (the SXSW of the West 5th area!) While these specific festivities took place east of I-35, the theme remained centralized on sophisticated fashion and swagger.
My first stop was at photographer Cory Ryan (Eye Candy Photography) and professional cosmetologist Martha Lynn Barnes’ cocktail party. The event hosted a chockablock of what seemed to be an even amount of fashionistas and photographers, and featured a multitude of sweets, along with signature drinks from the ever-present Tito’s Vodka.
Cory Ryan freshening up the candy bar.
Wed Aug 18 2010 · Posted in Photo Galleries, Reviews
Two Girls In Town: 2010 Fun Fun Fun Fest Lineup Release Press Conference Recap (by Ashley Cass)
Editor's Note: Going forward, two lovely lasses in town, Ashley Cass and Rachel Donnan, will be bringing you their experiences, observations, assessments, and much, much more via their column Two Girls In Town. Essentially, it is the world of Austin and beyond through the eyes and ears of Ashley and Rachel. To kick things off, Ashley Cass presents her viewpoint on yesterday’s epic Fun Fun Fun Fest lineup release press conference at the Wyndham Garden Hotel.
A press conference with Fun Fun Fun Fest founder Graham Williams and executive team members James Moody (Transmission Entertainment, Mohawk) and Johnny Sarkis (Transmisson Entertainment, Red 7) took place at Wyndham Garden Hotel yesterday. Conducted in sharp business attire, “Fun-Sultant” and local comedic genius Matt Bearden led the rare sit-down opportunity and welcomed attendees before giving the floor to Sarkis and Moody. The directors of “Research and Design for Fun” and “Marketing and Research for Fun” led an engaging Power Point display which gave more insight into FX3 Fest’s beliefs and primary objectives.
Thu Aug 5 2010 · Posted in Events, Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – Eats Darkness by Apostle of Hustle
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, and St. Vincent.
to be released May 19 on Arts & Crafts
Report Card: B-
Despite his role as their mostly anonymous lead guitarist, there remains little doubt that Andrew Whiteman is a key figure making Broken Social Scene as dynamic as they are. And there’s even less doubt that it’s an admirable move on his part to avoid the whole Broken Social Scene Presents nonsense that gave (perhaps questionable) legitimacy to releases by good-enough-to-do-it-on-his-own Kevin Drew and probably-had-no-chance-without-the-help Brendan Canning. But while flying under the Apostle of Hustle banner is a strong statement of creative independence, with that comes not only substantial reward, but also substantial risk. And with Eats Darkness, Apostle of Hustle’s third LP, which side of that coin gets more play becomes quite the relevant question.
Wed May 6 2009 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, and St. Vincent.
to be released May 26 on Warp
Report Card: B+
Here’s a fact: saying anything about Grizzly Bear that falls short of utter and uncompromising praise isn’t a very popular move. That being acknowledged, let’s put aside all the acclaim and rampant fandom for a second and allow this piece of blasphemy to come into focus: no matter how good Veckatimest may be as a whole, it never, ever reaches the impossibly lofty expectations created by its early singles. And how about this: is it possible for an album to be a sweeping, marvelous success in so many ways, yet still, at the end of the day, feel like a disappointment? To that question, Veckatimest says yes.
Wed Apr 29 2009 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, and St. Vincent.
to be released June 9 on Domino
Report Card: A freaking +
The pressure’s been building behind Dave Longstreth’s meandering Dirty Projectors project for the last few years, and 2007’s excellent if somewhat mystifying Black Flag covers/“reimaginations” album Rise Above brought listener intrigue to a new high—could it be that idiosyncratic oddball and Yale dropout Longstreth was growing nearer to accessibility? It seems so, and, really, the career trajectory here is not at all unlike that of fellow 2009 darlings Animal Collective, in that both started out hyper-obscure and intentionally abrasive, with an emphasis on willful experimentation and defiance of gratification, only to slowly but surely move towards a refined confidence in heightened normalcy. And that’s not to suggest that either outfit has shirked their uniqueness; they instead have learned to channel their innovation in a way that produces complete songs that human beings will actually enjoy, rather than just fragmentary attacks on musical reason. For Dirty Projectors, that turning point is embodied in the sparkling Bitte Orca.
Wed Apr 22 2009 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – Actor by St. Vincent
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
to be released May 5 on 4AD
Report Card: A-
Annie Clark’s beginnings in the flocks of Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens hardly made her transformation to big stage rockstar thrashabout a foregone conclusion. And it’s a strange thing that in a year of ridiculously hyped releases—from Animal Collective to Grizzly Bear, and now Dirty Projectors—that the frequently-adored Clark would come out of comparative nowhere with the quite-good Actor, an album sufficiently superior to its precursor that positions St. Vincent as an unlikely force to be reckoned with. Yet this, as we well know, is a world capable of defying expectations.
Wed Apr 15 2009 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – Living Thing by Peter Bjorn and John
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
released March 31 on Almost Gold
Report Card: C+
Peter Bjorn and John, blessed as they can be, have for a while appeared to be dodging accountability for the unexpected leap into international fame caused by “Young Folks,” and that song’s ubiquity (think radio, think television, think McDonald’s, think JC Penny), put the somewhat awkward north-Euros into a spotlight their personalities weren’t quite prepared for. That fact has been evident in their declining live show, as what was once a bouncy and playful romp through retro-rock and white guy dance moves has turned into a mostly joyless electronic sleepwalk, complete with a lack of connection to the audience befitting a band with audience to spare. To PB&J’s benefit, they haven’t fallen asleep at the experimental wheel, as their clever post-Writer’s Block misdirection Seaside Rock (a slight make-up for Peter Moren’s hideously bland solo album) wandered through instrumental and field recording reels, thus refusing to whet the appetite of a legion of pop-fanatics desperate for another tune to whistle into the ground.
Wed Apr 8 2009 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – Enemy Mine by Swan Lake
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
to be released March 24 on Jagjaguwar
Report Card: B+
There’s something inherently obnoxious about the whole “supergroup” moniker, and music history is dotted with thankfully aborted attempts to make something of the name’s lofty claim. Despite that, it’s surely intriguing when that star-crossed label becomes affixed to three guys who just a decade ago would have found it nearly impossible to develop a following in the first place, let alone such independent fan bases that when they get together to screw off in the studio it elicits all sorts of anticipatory glee-shouts. Yet in these internet times, musicians such as Spencer Krug, Carey Mercer, and Dan Bejar do have a niche in which to survivably produce some of the most intricate and conceptually demanding albums of the last few years, and even afford themselves the spare time to work on the Swan Lake project, a project best described as what happens when three mad scientists meet at a mad scientist convention and decide to be mad scientists together.
Wed Mar 4 2009 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – Little Hells by Marissa Nadler
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly
first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released,
just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar.
Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as
Animal Collective, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, White Denim,
and Grizzly Bear.
to be released March 3 on Kemado
Report Card: B
Marissa Nadler’s built a nice little scaffolding of critical acclaim
from her last couple albums, and during this time she’s admirably
filled the gap between the likes of Josephine Foster and Joanna Newsom
on the ethereal side, and St. Vincent and Feist on the less-challenging
side. Her airy, controlled approach is on display once again with Little Hells, the excellently titled follow-up to 2007’s Songs III: Bird on the Water.
And if it seems like Nadler’s been coming out with albums at a
ferocious pace, you’d be right—this is her third in four years, and
never before has her career seemed so poised for a breakthrough into
that most fantastic of sub-major laudations: widespread blog-love.
Wed Feb 25 2009 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – Here We Go Magic
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Crystal Stilts, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
released February 24 on Western Vinyl
Report Card: B+
Waterlogged and almost exhausted, Here We Go Magic’s self-titled debut throws a few excellent songs out there in an effort to survive its cumbersome name and thin catalog. At turns eerie and buoyant, the album is wispily folky while incorporating electronic flourishes and tunefulness in a way that feels both comforting and excellent. But while often catchy and joyfully monotonous—several songs are constructed from one highly repetitious base with change made on top, especially in the way of main man Luke Temple’s falsetto-heavy singing—it’s hard to shake the feeling that this album was considered “finished” just a tiny bit too early.
Wed Feb 18 2009 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS – (a)spera by Mirah
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Crystal Stilts, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
To be released March 10, 2009 on K Records
Report Card: B-
For all the time that’s passed—Mirah’s last record, the warmly received C’Mon Miracle, came out in 2004—it seemed reasonable to hope for the groundbreaking with this new release. And while (a)spera undoubtedly has its endearing moments, it unfortunately feels like a too-logical follow-up to the previous album, as if the last five years have changed nothing for music or for Mirah herself. Like before, she brings the kitchen sink, from horns to choirs to offbeat percussion, to buffer her simple tunes, and these tricks will surely please anyone not familiar with her work; to someone who is, though, the new adornment may feel a little uninspired, almost like Mirah herself looked at what she had and tried to come up with some sort of “unexpected” way to legitimize her spare vocal tracks.