Album Review: LOMITA: Stress Echo (w/bonus material) (indierect records)

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars


Although bands inevitably will continue to try, it seems nearly impossible to really blend rock and country sounds without being an imposter but, Austin's Lomita have not only reconciled those two genres but have expanded their sound to incorporate sub-genres thereof, creating a whilly unique sound worthy of every non-partisan music fan's palette.
Stress Echo, the band's debut release, showcases their diverse tastes as the record flows from the catchy roadhouse pop anthems of "I Got A Feeling" and "History of Leaving" to the 100 mile speed-train rock of "Green Eyes" to the Billy Idol-esque dance floor disaster freak-out of "Mr. Execution," finally winding down into the depraved depths of "Panic" which starts off with creepy, meloncholly wails and dead ends into a cacophonous explosion of buildups and teardowns that will make you feel like you're in a ragtop Cadillac screaming through the desert with a loaded gun sitting on the front seat next to your bottle of Jameson.
The band consists of five expert musicians who have a well of ideas, a massive library of influences, and know what to do with their instruments and recording equipment. As icing on the cake, Lomita can pull of their layered compositions live as well as they have on their record so catch a show in the near future and grab a copy of Stress Echo which is sure to wear your CD player out.

- anatol ziege

Band Review STRANGE FRUIT PROJECT riyl: the roots, jurassic 5, blackalicious words: jordan davidoff / photo: michael tnasuttimonkol

To many hip-hop fans, Texas’ rap scene is centered around candy-painted cars and iced-out grills. While many Texans have embraced screwed-and-chopped tunes (along with its extravagant lifestyle), a Texas trio of hip-hoppers is proving that the Lone Star State has much more to offer than a few cups of “purple drank.”


Enter the Strange Fruit Project. With parts based in both Waco and Dallas, the group – S1, Myth and Myone – have recently made an impressive splash in underground hip-hop circles with their acclaimed release The Healing (Om Records), a refreshing set of old-school rhymes that’s a far cry from the H-Town sounds of Mike Jones and Chamillionaire.
With “boom-bap” beats reminiscent of the Native Tongues movement of the early ‘90s (A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul), SFP spits positive messages throughout (ITAL)The Healing and strays away from the material rhymes usually heard on mainstream hip-hop radio stations.
The new album has a variety of renown guests, most notably Dallas native Erykah Badu. The group said that the collaboration was put together by Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson of The Roots, a huge fan of both parties.
“He’s the reason Erykah made it onto the album,” Myone said. “His ear for music is on another level, and he really pushed for us to get together because of our Texas connection, and we’re blessed to have her on the album.”
The collaboration, titled “Get Live,” is a feel-good anthem with a beat more quick than most Texas-based hip-hop. While the group loves “Screw” music just as much as the next Texan, SFP wants to let the national audience know that Lone Star hip-hop is not limited to the narrow-minded, materialistic styles as it is often portrayed to be.
“We have no problem with that kind of music,” Myth said. “That sound has always been there, so it overshadows everything. We just try to create a balance and show another side of Texas.”
SFP is very pleased with the album’s initial reception. The Healing has been hailed with wide critical acclaim since its release and even rose into the top ten of iTunes’ hip-hop album charts, a rare milestone for an independent act.
“Feedback is all that we wanted,” S1 said. “We got it and are very happy with what we’ve heard.”
SFP hasn’t been back home in Texas since a recent promotional tour in August and will be off to Europe to spread their hip-hop gospel for most of the Fall. The group members collectively agreed, though, that there’s always a place to hang their hat in Texas.
“We love coming back to Texas as much as we can,” S1 said. “We’re staying on our grind for now, but don’t worry, we’ll be back soon!”

Band Interview / Band Review THE ARM riyl: the fall, echo and the bunnymen, les savy fav words: santiago capra / photos: dániel perlaky

Even days after the show, the gentlemen responsible for the profound and strangely fulfilling static in my head are none other than The Arm, an Austin post-whatever-rock four-piece unwaveringly administering listeners with a straight shot through the head.
Emo's was shoulder to shoulder as the band sent lazy nods to the sound man confirming that things were in order. A few minutes later the band had ripped through the first breathless and perfectly chaotic song, confirming more importantly that this was their house we were in and that things were about to escalate out of our control.
From then forth, The Arm deconstructed the club and all in it continually more forcefully with the deep rumble of urgent basslines, sharp jagged guitar attacks, lingering shrieks of the organ, the complex dance drum equations, and the baptism-in-the-river-of-flame vocals preaching that no one is yet saved – but that the time to act is now.
With the last trails of guitar feedback fading, I realized that I was now allowed to move and I stumbled out back in search of some calm to wash the last 35 minutes of total annihilation down with. Seemingly, most of the band (with the exception of guitarist Alex Lyon who was already en route to another gig) had had the same idea and I joined Alex Ramirez (bass), Kevin Bybee (drums) and Sean O'Neal (keys, vox) to try to figure out what in the hell these outbursts of genuine bitch-slap music were all about.


You have four words to define your music without explicitly making sound references. Go!
Sean: Now more than ever.
Kevin: We will kill you.
Alex: Black comedy black comedy.

How can such a big sound come from such skinny kids?
Kevin: I squeeze every bit of myself into each performance and pay the consequences later. Hopefully that comes across.
Sean: We use amps. It's sweet that you think I'm skinny.
Alex: Sean and I really aren't that skinny... but more importantly the kids and I are really not kids anymore and it's not that our past endeavors "failed"... they more or less missed the radar or imploded.
In regards to The Arm, i think our sound is a projection of our collective contravention with our respective pasts.

What scares you and how does it manifest in your music?
Sean: Living an unremarkable existence or slowly slipping into quiet desperation scares me. So I try to make my desperation very unquiet and that's where the music comes from.
Kevin: Not soliciting an opinion scares me. If I'm up there destroying myself and somebody is bored, then somehow I have failed and that is unacceptable.
Alex: Myself. Playing music helps over come it... slightly.

Let's talk a little about your plans to infiltrate America. How has the band and the sound moved forward and what do you hope to achieve with it?
Sean: We regrouped and rebuilt and I think the songs we've been writing are more mature and less one-note. We know at least three notes now. My personal goal is to make a little noise this year and expand. I feel like we've been on a powderkeg for a while now and it's about time that it exploded.
Kevin: I think we finally sound like only ourselves, without any preconceived notions in our songwriting.
Alex: I think we'll be as successful as Guy Fawkes was at his own revolution.



You have an anticipated new record "Call You Out" coming out in April... who do you think will appreciate it?
Kevin: Since we're in the middle of being really noisy and fairly accessible I think we write songs that are catchy in their own weird way but i'm not sure we hear things the way the public as a whole does.
Alex: Muppets, cowboys, karaoke buffs, rabbits but not hares.
Sean: Vaguely bored people with an itchy feeling of dissatisfaction they just can't describe.

What mandatory warning label should accompany your music?
Sean: Trace amounts of peanuts.
Kevin: May cause idiotic comparisons.
Alex: Underwhelming if listened to at low levels. Do not drive or operate sharp instruments.

Name a local band who deserves more attention.
Kevin: Without a doubt, Lomita. You are going to hear about them.
Alex: Lomita, if they live long enough...
Sean: There's a ton of them that already get twice as much attention as we do – and deservedly so – but the ones who could use it are Lomita and Attack Formation.

How do you wish to be overwhelmed in the future?
Kevin: With the adoring praise of the entire planet, doye!
Alex: With time. Time to write music and time with my family.
Sean: With kisses.

Band Review STEERS riyl: lightning bolt, neurosis, the melvins words: franklin morris / photography: lauren olivarez

When asked to name their favorite local band, somebody in SteerS jokingly announces Bob Schneider and Willie Nelson and the entire room erupts into laughter.
This admission could not be further from the truth.
The fact is, SteerS have emerged as part of a relatively new Noise/Metal/Experimental scene that is consuming the Austin music underground. Along side bands like Brown Hornet, Oh Beast, Invincible Czars, Taft, and Assacre SteerS have pulled a virtual coup replacing the boring, stagnant white-boy nu-metal of yesteryear with something more noisy, chaotic, intelligent and refreshing declaring once and for all that frat boys need not be seen at Beerland or Emo’s after dark (unless they have taste).


By day they are normally dressed and as unassuming as Clark Kent—but once night falls on Red River, Patrick, Kevin, and Brian don camouflage uniforms complete with pink embroidered cow heads and become Ego-Macho, Bronc-Combo, and Octo-Horatio, who in turn make up SteerS. Night after night, show after show, SteerS churn out a disharmonious cacophony of violently heavy and abrasive instrumental songs to unsuspecting crowds all over Texas and beyond.
Guitarist/Keyboardist Patrick Turbiville touts, “Our newest song is called 8-2-2-9-4-5-3-2-7-3-2 because that is how we have to count to play it.” Immediately the band tries to drum the song on their laps, counting in the absurd time signature the whole time. They fumble, laugh, and move on. Bassist Kevin Livesay is quick to point out, “We have no limitations.” Turbiville follows that the band keeps things interesting by “adding something that is almost physically impossible to play” to every song.


Though they often draw comparisons to Lightning Bolt, Neurosis, Rush, The Melvins, and all things Mike Patton, the band is not simply blood and fury. Moments of serenity (along the lines of Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor, or Austin’s own Explosions In The Sky) infiltrate the band’s sound leaving behind a unique dynamic one does not often find in a noise-metal outfit. Rhythms and structure are complex and oftentimes written with mathematical forethought. SteerS will tie the brain of the average music listener in knots and leave them asking, “How the hell did they do that?”
The band’s bio boasts of a predilection toward destruction and no one who has witnessed a SteerS show will disagree. Bassist Kevin Livesay has helped the band acquire a reputation as one of the most frantic and destructive bands in town, with shows often descending into the chaos of launching instruments across venues, screaming violently at crowds, and jumping into trashcans. “Sometimes bad ideas seem like good ideas when you are playing music,” Livesay asserts in his defense. But it is that very spectacle that has made SteerS an essential live act. “When we are playing really well we’re more at ease so we can act crazier,” says Guitarist/Keyboardist Patrick Turbiville, “and when we play really badly we are usually pissed off so we act really crazy too.”
Local venues, websites, and even the Austin Chronicle have taken notice, pushing the band harder than most acts and even running a feature on SteerS in an issue last year. “You are either going to fucking hate us or think we are great.” Kevin declares in his explanation of the band’s polarizing effect. “I would rather see people leave the room than just sit there calmly talking and ignoring us.”

Band Review BELAIRE riyl: the free design, metro area, francoise hardy words: anatol ziege / photography: dániel perlaky

In another life not so far away, a petite and beautiful girl emerges lightfooted from a Paris subway with her scarf trailing behind her.
She grabs the hand of the old woman standing at the crosswalk and leads her across the boulevard, pirouetting around her while Citröens and Renaults screech to a hault. Crackle, Crackle, and everything’s quiet and still for a moment as the blind beggar encamped at the base of the flower boutique flips to side B of a Belaire record and slowly cranks his old gramophone to continue the soundtrack to this idyllic carnival.


The undescribable creative assemblage that is Belaire has been serendipitously patched together from members of Arkay, Fozlur, Flashlight Fiction, Voxtrot, and Fancy Feast. Together, the band mixes genres at will floating from Brazil funk to Italian movie scores to Carnival music to New Wave to Italo Disco and back again to form a cohesive and incredibly addictive sound all their own.
Having released an amazing and instantly addictive self-titled debut EP, the band received immediate attention from college radio and music press. They have followed that up this past February with a special edition 7” release, Haunted Castle (2006, Indierect Records), continuing their rapid cult status ascendence. They are currently playing some of the most fun sets in Austin and touring to spread their sound while already hard at work on a full-lenght album to be released later in the year.
information: Band Website / Band Myspace

DVD Review Led Zeppelin: The Origin of the Species (sexy intellectual)

rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Led Zeppelin: Origin of the Species is part of the Critical Review series dissecting the “roots and branches” of the band as well as the individual members. Looking at the musical histories and influences that created pre-Zeppelin groups like The Yardbirds and Band of Joy, the film follows the young musicians as they create the legendary group from the ground up all the way to international success.
Featuring lots of rare or previously unseen photographs and film footage, the DVD gives visually more than others have in the past while maintaining a scholarly approach incorporating the insights of 60s NME editor Keith Altham among others who present great first-hand memories. All the viewpoints create a well-rounded understanding of this phenomenal group.
– anatol ziege

Band Review PETER AND THE WOLF riyl: daniel johnston, tom waits, iron & wine words: john watson / photography: steve chevez

There is beauty in simplicity. Performing experimental folk as Peter and the Wolf,
guitarist/vocalist Red Hunter has given additional credence to this age-old adage.


On Peter and the Wolf’s first self-titled LP, stringed instruments are plucked and strummed delicately, leaving plenty of room for Hunter and accompanying singer Dana Falconberry to vocalize the fragile melodies. Thank goodness for the space, as there is a magical chemistry between the two singers that defies description as they unite in hallowed harmony. In many ways, “hymn” seems a more fitting description than “song,” and, likewise, “poetry” more apt than “lyrics.” The words are shrouded in mystery, as on “Strange Eyes,” with its sole repeated line, “Strange eyes older than the hills, I know we are.” But Peter and the Wolf is not limited to lyrical mystique. Hunter has chosen unconventional locations for live performances (cemeteries, abandoned buses and an island reachable by canoe) among many others. Peter and the Wolf’s biography describes the ritual that Hunter carries out to write their songs, involving not only “the blood of a coyote, the bones of a sewer rat, and the marrow of a blind possum,” but also nudity, possession and “branded flesh.” Let us hope that, whatever it takes to make this profoundly beautiful and haunting music, Hunter continues doing it.

Band Review TRANSMOGRAPHY riyl: slint, electralane, lightning bolt words: si lin / photography: ali pharmakidis

Culminating the true spirit of experimental and atmospheric indie rock ambiance, the music of Transmography will detonate a kaleidoscopic fantasia in your head, letting loose a Ray Bradbury-esque carnie circus of masked-makeup-wearing clowns running amuck on your rapid firing neurons and electrodes.


James Evans and Michael Frazier, the musical orchestrators behind the psychotropic opuses, wail sonic gusto in the likes of Explosions in the Sky compounded with the etherealness of Mogwai and Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Their latest release, Pay Rent or Quit, stitches together a patchwork of styles, with each track transcribed like the compositions of a classical mastermind. They have what Rank and Revue has referred to as “an implosive, solar punctuality.” One single song presents a plethora of meticulously considered movements glued together to create a conglomeration of dreamlike melodies, riffs, and experimental rhythms. Intensive bouts of noise reverberate throughout the record advancing from buzzing and bobbing guitars, driving bass, varying forms of percussion, synthesizers, loops and effects, and a grab bag of other electronic gadgetry. Pay Rent or Quit, tracked and mixed at Austin’s Matchbox Studios, has marked its territory on the highly revered “Recommended” shelves of local record stores and is in recurrent rotation at a number of college radio stations. Transmography currently is preparing to record a new batch of songs that captures their most recent incarnation and are planning to tour extensively, aiming to open the ears and expand the minds of listeners everywhere.
information: Band Website / Band Myspace

Band Review TAMMANY HALL MACHINE riyl: jellyfish, the beatles, queen words: ani v. steen / photography: crawford morgan

Like that perfect dish with each flavor distinct yet married into such harmonious nonpareil, so is the sound of Tammany Hall Machine.


Transmitting classic rock of the 60s with just enough offsetting wildness of 70s country twang, and flurries of modern psychedelia, the music of the dynamic quintet exudes intriguing soundcraft with precise and balanced compositions. The band has been making great waves since the release of their impressively self-produced and self-titled debut album. Unlike throwbacks to the rock gods of yesteryear, this band has transformed the proverbial into a uniqueness that has been praised as “unapologetically original” (Whoopsy Magazine) and “really excellent stuff that deserves to be heard” (Popbang Radio). They have been compared to the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and it’s not too long before Tammany Hall Machine will transform ordinary people into fanatical British school girls.

Band Review: SINGLE FRAME riyl: blonde redhead, yo la tengo, ...trail of dead words: john watson / photo: liz fulcher + heather brondy

Austin’s Single Frame is certainly on to something. Their acid-kraut-arena-punk-new-wave-disco-disaster-art-rock-electro-freakout-nuclear-wasteland-soundtrack has been garnishing critical praise since they dropped their self-released debut, Wetheads Come Running.


Somewhere in between rocking out for sake of art and making art in the name of rock, drummer Adreon Henry, guitarist/bassist Brendan Reilly, and keyboardist Jason Schleter, who all also sing, have crafted a synth-laden, beat-heavy sound with angular guitar hooks that is nigh to impossible to pin down as it crosses genres seamlessly. There is an element of danger to the music as well, something just a little frightening as they sing lyrics like “I can see the sharks circling over and over. You sharpen the knives and the words to say that I’m coming home with somone that doesn’t have your name” (“I’ll Lose Your Balance”). After all, this is a band that purportedly watched a horror movie every day for a month before recording their most recent full-length, Body/End/Basement. It goes without saying that some of the recording techniques on Body/End/Basement, such as immersing one’s head in a bucket full of water while a microphone dangles above or de-tuning a guitar while its being playing, are a little unusual, but they help give the band its exquisite, incomparable sound. Simply put, Single Frame are music’s John Nash: Schizophrenic, endearing, scary at times, and, dare I say, even a little bit genius.
information: Band Website / Band Myspace

Album Review IV THIEVES: If We Can't Escape My Pretty (new west)

rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The IV Thieves’ much anticipated debut album If We Can’t Escape My Pretty is like listening to ‘50s and ‘60s Britpop making a delightful deal with the devil. The record, produced by Chris “Frenchie” Smith of Austin’s The Bubble recording studio and mixed by UK’s Chris Sheldon (Pixies, Radiohead), is a sonic palette of soul-drenched vocals, unforgiving guitars and wickedly powerful drums all melding together to create fervently enticing melodies.
Comprised of Nottingham, England natives (and recent Austin transplants) Nic Armstrong, Johnny Aitken, Shane Lawlor and Glynn Wedgewood, the band offers three equally talented songwriters who have generated a rich tableau of whirlwind imagery in heartache and resolution. First track single “You Can’t Love What You Don’t Understand” is an exhilarating pop-rock excursion with a to-hell-with-you attitude, while “The Sound and The Fury” serves up Ravonettes-esque haunted rock, conjuring visions of raucous nightlife. The record comes full circle with “Chase Me Off/Out,” a poetic recall in tinkering piano and melancholy harmonies. Be on the lookout for If We Can’t Escape My Pretty, a debut certainly worth noting.
- larissa quon

Album Review SILVER JEWS: Tanglewood Numbers (drag city)

rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Silver Jews started in David Berman’s New York City apartment where Stephen Malkmus sat in, playing Berman’s songs on Sonic Youth’s answering machine. The songs have always carried a casual, irreverent feel reflecting this beginning. While retaining this character, Tanglewood Numbers is full-band, plugged-in rock, where previous releases tended towards country-inflected compositions.
On a foundation of Southern-inspired music, Berman has always written songs with lyrics that come from a self-effacing voice present in some of the best American roots music, juxtaposing desolation and whimsy. With song titles like “How Can I Love You If You Won’t Lie Down,” this give and take leaps from the surface of Tanglewood Numbers, but also pervades it in more subtle ways.
Another high point is the increased presence of Berman’s wife Cassie as a backup vocalist and songwriter. Their collaboration provides for one of the best moments on the record when, in “Punks in the Beerlight,” she sings “If it ever gets really, really bad...,” he interjects “Let’s not kid ourselves, it gets really, really bad.” It is this cycle of playful hope and grizzled realism that has always formed the core of Silver Jews’ beauty, and Tanglewood Numbers may be the best exploration of the theme to date.
– joaquin black

Album Review PURCHASE NEW YORK: In Vitro Veritas (indierect records)

rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Although critical press acclaim has trickled in from various parts of the country as well as Europe and Canada, Austin-based Purchase New York’s debut full-length, in vitro veritas, has largely been missed by the music listening public – despite how utterly good it is.
The album begins with a slow ascent of drones, tones, and controlled feedback building on top of each other and compounding into what feels like an impending glorious sonic apocalypse. Purchase New York is not afraid to stretch a note longer and longer until the listener is wholly overwhelmed and sucked in and the song breaks into crescending melodies weaving in and out of each other growing into enormous proportions that seemlessly blend both the ethereal and the hellish.
Utilizing three guitars, bass, keys, drums, electronics, and a mountain of blinking effects pedals, the band can create an incredibly diverse set of sounds and approaches songwriting from an orchestral sensibility allowing them to farther explore their musical pallettes. “Our songs are series of ideas and sonic moments, each able to stand on its own, but forming a cohesive whole when presented as a progression of movements,” primary songwriter and frontman Stephen Khoury says.
As a result, the band has earned comparisons to orchestral bands such as Explosions In the Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Mogwai. Their genuine rock intensity and wide vocal range has also likened them to Led Zeppelin and bands such as Pink Floyd and Radiohead who have embraced pushing their music beyond traditional rock.
“The simplistic formulae of most rock song structures doesn’t interest us. We’re attempting to push the compositional and tonal boundaries of those traditions, allowing our inspirations to embrace diverse musical areas,” multi-instrumentalist Loren Dent says.
– anatol ziege

Band Review GOLDEN BEAR riyl: david bowie, built to spill, flying burrito brothers words: joaquin black / photography: matt wright

Golden Bear is a 6-piece with a basic rock foundation of guitars, keys, bass, drums, and, in some cases, alternate instrumentation ranging from a Theremin to maracas and tambourine.
Their sound is a collage of the spirit of Southern boogie, the grandiose flourishes of ‘70’s-era The Who, the lilting bounce of contemporary indie pop, and the confessional simplicity of the best country songwriters. It’s quite a balance to maintain, and clearly some songs arrange these ingredients in different proportions; but this stylistic blend is what makes Golden Bear one of the most distinctive bands on the Austin scene.


Having just finished up the final mixes for their upcoming debut full-length, Golden Bear appears poised for a potential breakout from Austin over the course of the next year. Every track on the record includes several featured musicians, including members of notable Austin bands such as Voxtrot, The Black Angels, and Tia Carrera. All of this help makes for instrumental arrangements that previous recordings only hinted at; xylophone, lap steel, trumpet, tuba, pedal steel, and more all play significant roles on at least one track. The band is free with their traditional rock instrumentation as well, including as many as four guitars on some tracks, several harmonizing vocalists, or extra percussion. The result of all of this is an exultant pop sound seemingly too big for a debut record.
Although playing live relatively infrequently recently in order to focus on finishing up the record, Golden Bear should be back on stage again in the coming months and is a charismatic performance not to be missed.

DVD Review The Tomorrow Show: Punk and New Wave dir: Dan Funk (shout factory)

rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Tom Snyder, while being both stiff and a bit of a blowhard, nevertheless gave ample audience to members of the burgeoning punk and new wave movements on his late night “Tomorrow Show.” Regardless of the fact that he often had them on in order to ridicule their clothes or approach to music, Snyder nonetheless deserves credit for introducing a lot of the giants of the genre to a mainstream audience. The Ramones, Elvis Costello and Patti Smith all showed up on his couch to be questioned by the chuckling, eyebrow wagging Snyder, who usually sat, visibly perplexed, in a cloud of cigarette smoke while these artists tore through their live sets. When he interviewed them it was often uncomfortable and confrontational: in other words, classic television. Out of either naiveté or gentle gibing, his “genuinely curious” line of questioning evoked some of the greatest sound bites of rock and roll. (On why he cut himself during a performance, Iggy Pop says, “Because I’m on your show.”) Finally rescued from grainy bootlegs, you can now see all of these indispensable bits of punk history on one DVD. I guess you’re all right after all, Mr. Snyder.
– sean o’neal

Album Review OF MONTREAL: The Sunlandic Twins (polyvinyl)

rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Athens, GA based Of Montreal always seems to produce extreme reactions, either positive or negative. The band’s complex pop arrangements have been hailed as both ingenious and overwrought, with reasonable arguments in either direction. On The Sunlandic Twins, however, Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes produces the best work of his career. The 60’s psych-pop and theatrical influences remain, but have in most cases receded into the background behind an increased emphasis on electronic dance instrumentation. The result is no less complex than earlier records, but much more tightly focused. “So Begins Our Alabee” begins with a harmonizing chorus over glitchy beats and moves into a driving 80’s synth dance track via a short bass breakout, a progression that perfectly encapsulates the album’s diverse influences. The Sunlandic Twins is worth checking out for everyone: newcomers, long-time fans, and long-time detractors alike.
- joaquin black

Album Review SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN: Broom (generic equivalent)

rating: 4 out of 5 stars

99% of all music is crap, which makes my job akin to rating the quality of turds. That aside, every so often a record will come along and completely blow away a jaded rock-snob like me. SSLYBY (pardon the acronym) squished all of my favorite bands into one fuzzy, dish. There are flavors here of The Shins, Weezer, OTC, and even a little Modest Mouse. Though some may accuse the band of idol worship, SSLYBY write damn good songs (like the bands mentioned above) that are warmly familiar without being overtly derivative. Broom is packed with great songs, catchy melodies, cute and subtle nerdy humor, and enough character to demand repeated listens. A+ vocal harmonies, insanely catchy pop hooks, and a 4-Track tape-in-the-red ambience make this a top-priority record to check out.
– franklin morris

DVD ReviewWhy Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?dir: Vicki Hunter + Heather Whinna(blank stare)

rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Uh, maybe because Christian music sounds sort of lame? Without taking a stance one way or the other and just letting the music do the talking, this documentary inadvertently proves that--even when dressed up in the trappings of speed metal and punk--Christianity manages to keep from rocking. That’s just my opinion, of course, and that’s why I find this documentary more than a little funny as it earnestly tries to explore the young musicians who want to play secular forms of music but do it all in the name of Jesus. Those already given over to the Word may disagree, and the huge crowds at some of the featured Christian rock festivals prove that, despite my opinions, there’s actually a thriving scene for this sort of thing. Interviews with Pedro the Lion, MXPX and dozens of lesser bands you’ve likely never heard of paint a picture of pious, proselytizing folks who just want to celebrate the good word with lots of guitars. God speed and all, but thrash metal made by dudes wearing eyeliner is bad no matter how pure your intentions (in fact, it’s even worse.)
– sean o’neal

Album ReviewQUIEN ES, BOOM!Cast Your Burdens Aside EP(sixgunlover)

rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Austin’s Quien es, BOOM! takes inspiration from dusty western landscapes and the everyday survival instincts dominating life, love, work, and family. On Cast Your Burdens Aside the band arranges a strong debut EP that does not rely on throwaway filler tracks to keep it moving; rather, each track contributes to a deeper definition of the band’s sound.
Longtime collaborative partners Jason Butler and Dabney Dwelle share primary songwriting responsibilities as well as vocal/guitar duties for Quien es, Boom! and have crafted a cohesive musical approach incorporating roots, country, and indie rock. Kevin Fender provides complex broken beats, Alec Padron brings the rumbling bass, Nik Snell ads a variety of instruments including piano and guitar, and Scott Shellhamer contributes layered electronics to round out the band and record.
Opener “Brittle Britches” sets the tone with its steam freight train rhythms rolling alongside frantic drum gallops. The jangly and orchestral “Brown of Fall” and the hollow and harmonized “Twenty Eight in Twelve” are also highlights.
Recorded with engineer Jeremy Lemos (Wilco, Stereolab, Sonic Youth) Cast Your Burdens Aside has an authentically gritty feel that, coupled with the quality songwriting and interesting lyrics, makes the 7-track record a great choice to pick up.
– anatol ziege

Band ReviewLOMITAriyl: billy idol, big star, mogwaiwords: franklin morris / photography: dániel perlaky

A lot of Austin bands aim to blend country and rock, but none go about it quite the way Lomita does – that is to say with washed out guitars and layers and layers of shoegazer synthesizers and feedback, all echoing a decidedly vintage ambience.
The band constructs songs in a way that ignores, and sometimes breaks, traditional genre. Hints of indie rock like Slowdive and Sonic Youth, the 1970s style pop rock of Big Star, and the country-rock of yesteryear flood listeners’ eardrums all at once, making Lomita a most intriguing listen. Though the band has only been together for a year, their unique approach to genre and sound has turned heads and garnered attention from local publications, industry, and fans alike.


“Jonas gave me Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers, and I gave him Gram Parsons and The Byrds,” is guitarist/vocalist Ricky Sowan’s explanation of the record swap that lead to the band’s founding. “We don’t sound like any other band in town,” Sowan continues, “and I can say that with confidence.” And of course, he could not be more correct. (What bands do you know that boast Gram Parsons and PJ Harvey as influences?).
Though songwriting credits are primarily divided between guitarsists Jonas Wilson and Ricky Sowan, the band is wholly composed of incredible players, drawing its membership from My Violent Life, Slow Motion Picture, Boothill Graveyard, and the seminal Texas band, Lift To Experience. Borrowing their name from a sign in Jonas’s backyard for “The Lomita Opry House,” the band started playing out last year and was immediately embraced by a strong community of fellow local acts such as Brothers And Sisters, The Arm, and Ghostland Observatory. “All the bands we know and hang out with all are completely different yet we help each other out in every way we can.”
This young band already has one record under their belt – 2005’s Stress Echo (re-released with bonus materials in August 2006 on Indierect Records) – and another currently in production at Jonas Wilson’s Martindale, TX recording studio. The band asserts the old record is “completely different than the new one” and cites “listening to completely different stuff” as the primary reason for the shift. But while the new record is still in production, a live recording is expected to be released by late 2006 on Austin’s Indierect records to provide a bridge between the two CDs.
For now, experiencing the band’s live show is the only immediate consolation for eager fans. When asked what people should expect when seeing Lomita in concert, the band answers confidently: “Good songs, good players, and enormous sound.”

information: Band Website / Band Myspace