rock n roll

ReviewRobert DeanSong

Song Review – Anyway You Like: Tied Up is one of Austin’s Newest to Check Out

Taking the hip-hop approach by dropping singles one at a time, Tied Up recently gave us their newest, “Anyway You Like,” on the heels of their prior single, “Gun.” Both are wicked glimpses into what the band will give us moving forward, which says a metric fuck ton, considering they only have two tracks out for public consumption. And those two tracks do not play. This is the rock and roll you want;

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: A Hot Summer Nights ramble through the weekend with great local acts

Another Hot Summer Nights in Austin has come and gone. Twice a year, the Red River Cultural District holds a cover-charge-free, street-wide event that features mountains of Austin talent and beyond in both a January and July edition at venues such as Mohawk, Chess Club, Empire Garage & Control Room, Swan Dive, The 13th Floor, Elysium, and more. For each festival edition, an eclectic lineup that spans all genres invades Red River for thousands of attendees to get a helping of great, local talent, new and old. During the festival weekend, programming lasts from the early evening to closing time to give local music fans a taste of what makes the Austin music scene one of the best destinations in the country.

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AlbumGreg AckermanReview

Album review: Sprawling Post Rock project Sound Mass announced third album and Texas mini tour

When our friends with Austin band, My Education and Salt Lake City’s Theta Naught told us a new album was coming ten years after the release of their second collaboration, it was a bit of a surprise it took that long to make the follow-up to Sound Mass II: Spiritual Docking. It was particularly perplexing given that the recording sessions for this release, entitled Ampersand were made in 2019 not long before the worldwide pandemic put a stop to pretty much everything including collaborations between awesome post-rock bands. 

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Seven bands to see at Hot Summer Nights July 18-20

Hot Summer Nights in the Red River Cultural District in Austin, is yet another RRCD-sponsored event that features countless local artists performing across the downtown area. Each showcase will not charge a cover at the door, meaning dozens of free showcases akin to the annual Free Week, which takes place the first week of each January. Hot Summer Nights will take place July 18 – July 20 and will feature over 140 acts from all over Austin and surrounding areas.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: The Black Angels rocked the new Stable Hall in San Antonio last week

The Black Angels headed to San Antonio to give their Central Texas fans a blueprint of what will come in their 20th year. The Black Angels have stayed plugged into the depths and hardliners of the indie scene, and their relevance and expertise in the underground music sphere have been an inspiring force due to their many years in the business. The Black Angels delivered a smoking set at Stabile Hall on Friday, June 28 in San Antonio for their Central Texas fans, which saw Austin and local SATX supporters alike flocking to the new(ish) Stable Hall venue to witness a masterclass in Texas Psychedelia. 

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Amanda QuraishiLive MusicReview

Live Music Review: Flakefest Vol. 1 defied expectations at Mohawk June 28

Nowhere could this phenomenon be better illustrated than at FLAKEFEST Vol. 1 on Friday, June 28, 2024 at Mohawk. Two bands – Como Las Movies and Starflake – took to the stage along with a handful of other local music luminaries and brought us an evening of homegrown, Latin-infused, experimental music that defies expectations and crushes definitions.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Art Rockers Of Montreal returned to Mohawk on Tuesday

For Of Montreal’s sold-out Austin performance at Red River Cultural District stronghold Mohawk on Tuesday, the summer Texas crowd was ready to sweat it out for yet another triumphant performance showing a masterclass in art and both moody and jovial rock and roll. Of Montreal is classified as a member of the multi-regional Elephant 6 musical collective, which hosts the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, and Elf Power. With all the bands in this sector sharing a love for the trippiness of the 1960s, Of Montreal packs countless mannerisms of stage show glory. 

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Amanda QuraishiPremiereSong

Song Premiere: Starflake Has Landed With Single NuBooty

Instead, O’Brien is running head-first into a brand new project – an experimental tropi-punk ensemble called Starflake. He is joined by two of the hardest working musicians in the Austin music scene, drummer Zac Catanzaro (Walker Lukens, Song Confessional) and percussionist Juan Alfredo Ríos (Como Las Movies, Easy Compadre!), both also members of The Bright Light Social Hour; as well as bassists/synth-psychonauts Ben Nelson (Molly Burch, A. Sinclair) and Alex Holeman (Chroma Phase).

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Brian HillsmanLive MusicReview

Live music review: Wine Lips and Forty Feet Tall rocked 13th Floor

On Monday, May 6, Red River Cultural District venue, The 13th Floor was flooded with patrons stoked to check out Wine Lips on the heels of their latest full-length release, Super Mega Ultra. One month to the day after the LP release, the Canadian quartet put on a raucous, mosh-inducing performance with enough pull to prompt friends Forty Feet Tall to fly in from Portland for the pairing. The two bands rocked 13th Floor with stand-out performances.

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