October 17, 2012 7:40 am by: Laurie Gallardo
Some of my most favorite bands have made an art form out of combining contradictory musical styles. Brooklyn-based duo
Sleigh Bells easily made it onto my list the moment I gave a listen to their debut album,
Treats (2010). It pushes the envelope with this schizophrenic aural attack of booming, glitchy synthed-up rock paired with the sweetest, most silvery vocals ever applied to something that loud and explosive. Nothing subtle at all about this sonic trip. I was instantly captivated by the anomaly.
Along comes
Reign Of Terror, and once again Sleigh Bells presents another brilliant dichotomy with unrelenting, massive noise pop, a straightforward and simple formula with blasts of sound. It feels like dream pop crossing paths with heavy metal - and doing some kind of twisted waltz together. But keep it mind it’s not all just loops and hooks.
Alexis Krauss and...
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Next month marks a year since the release of Seth Sherman’s album, When the Moment Is True, and it still happens to be one of my favorites. Phenomenal. On it, he plays all the instruments and provides the vocals for each song. As impressive as that is, it shouldn't be that surprising, coming from a musician as talented as he is. I've said before, such is the strategy of an incredibly skilled and knowledgeable musical perfectionist who combs over every detail with great care. There's a reason he sounds so great.
The album came together from solo tracks he’d written after playing with different bands in Austin and other cities, along with some deeply personal material he’d penned after dealing... » read more
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From a flipside aural dimension emerges Black Moth Super Rainbow. The Pittsburgh-based electronic psychedelia band stands out with a rather distinctive sound to their craft, d…...
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The end of Austin Latino Music Month draws to a close, but not without a big finale – and that would be the 2nd Annual Pachanga Music Festival. Twenty artists are on the bill, ea…...
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Songwriter Angela Easterling grew up in a beautiful place – the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, on a farm that had been in her family since 1791. Granted, she did go awa…...
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Austin-based singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston has a busy summer ahead, so now’s your chance to catch him before he’s gone for awhile.
Johnston recently posted so…...
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Ted Leo was playing in post-hardcore punk bands like Citizen’s Arrest, Animal Crackers and writing music for Chisel in the late 80s before evolving in a different direction. Le…...
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Looking at John Chambers’ musical experiences is like checking out a roller coaster ride. Plenty of ups, downs and surprises around the corner. But through it all, music pr…...
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Cutbacks in music programs continue to occur in public schools across the country, and of course, Texas schools are no exception. Keeping in mind that Austin is the “live mu…...
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See that feller, down at the end of the bar? That would be a Mr. Leo Rondeau. He’ll make you some great music with a twang that tugs at the heart.
The singer-songwriter and roots…...
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The break that Alpha Rev took wasn’t too long, and they had a perfectly good excuse for doing so. They’ve been working on their upcoming album for the past six months, a…...
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Atlanta quintet Manchester Orchestra recently released their second album, Mean Everything To Nothing, and vocalist Andy Hull settled for nothing less than having each and eve…...
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Portland, Oregon does indeed have a cornucopia of indie bands for the ears to feast upon – The Shins, Modest Mouse, The Decemberists…or, if you wanna show off, throw o…...
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Butch Walker, a native of Cartersville, GA, used to be an 80s rocker, grinding the axe in bands like Bad Boyz (with a “z,” mind you) and Byte the Bullet, the latter of whi…...
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The Dears formed in 1995, and released their debut album, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, in 2000. This was the beginning of a distinctive Canadian indie movement that embraced t…...
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Loxsly began as a one-man operation, back in 2003 in Waco, TX. Band founder and vocalist Cody Ground was armed with a synthesizer, maybe a saxophone-playing buddy from time to time…...
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