Dum Dum Girls Announce End of Daze EP
Dum Dum Girls are set to release a new EP on September 25 via Sub Pop. The End of Daze EP‘s first single is “Lord Knows” but other standout tracks include “Mine Tonight”…
Jonathan Richman Live at the Mohawk
When our writer, Kelli Nastasi, reviewed Jonathan Richman’s show in Paris, France this spring, she had it exactly right: the guy is channeling spirits from a faraway place. His whole being is simply…
Moonface at Red 7
After the Jonathan Richman show last Friday night that was extremely delayed (more on that tomorrow), I still had time to make my way up the street and get into Red 7 just…
Album Review: A Place to Bury Strangers – Worship
The peripheries of A Place to Bury Strangers seem to have as large – or even larger – a profile as the band’s music itself. Vocalist/guitarist Oliver Ackermann helped found boutique effects pedal…
Track Review: “Cherokee” – Cat Power
Chan Marshall aka Cat Power has released another track from her forthcoming LP Sun, which drops on September 4th on Matador and looks like it will be as stunning as anything Cat Power…
Denmark’s Efterklang Announces New Album and Video Teaser
Copenhagen’s experimental indie rock group Efterklang has announced the release a new full-length, Piramida, to be issued on the 4AD imprint on September 25th. Surrounding the album’s release, the group has already undertaken…
The Believer Offers Calvin Johnson Curated Cassette with Music Issue
Honestly, there’s just no point in saying it any other way. Here’s The Believer in their own words about the cassette collaboration with Calvin Johnson as well as the impending Believer tour involving Johnson….
Album Review: The Daredevil Christopher Wright – The Nature of Things
The recent explosion of folksy music onto the indie scene has been paired with some interesting exploration of vocal harmonies, and The Daredevil Christopher Wright has been in step with this trend. That…
Video: Chain and the Gang – “Certain Kinds of Trash”
To coincide with the release of their newest full-length, In Cold Blood, out now on K Records, Chain and the Gang have released a video for the song “Certain Kinds of Trash.” In…
No Future Shares Demos
Austin’s No Future, fronted by Randy Reynolds of Leatherbag fame has shared a series of four new demos. Reynolds is a guy whose influences over the years have tangibly affected his songwriting, as well…
The Antlers Share New Song “Drift Dive”
On July 24th, Brooklyn’s Antlers will release a new EP entitled Undersea via Anti Records. Preceding that, the group has shared “Drift Dive,” a track full of slow brass and subtle electronic underlayers that…
Divine Fits Announce Album Details, Stream New Song
We wrote previously about the indie supergroup of sorts, comprised of members of Spoon, Wolf Parade, and New Bomb Turks. Divine Fits have announced details about their forthcoming debut: the album will be…
Jens Lekman Announces US Tour
As previously reported, Swedish indie pop songwriter Jens Lekman will release I Know What Love Isn’t via Secretly Canadian on September 4th. He has also announced a US tour and released a video for the album’s…
Video: Jens Lekman – “Erica America”
As previously reported, Swedish indie pop songwriter Jens Lekman will release I Know What Love Isn’t via Secretly Canadian on September 4th. Above is the video for the first single “Erica America.” It’s a…
Heyward Howkins’ Debut LP The Hale and Hearty Out Today
Philadelphia based songwriter Heyward Howkins has impressive circles of friends through other bands in which he has played including members of The War on Drugs and Jens Lekman’s band. Now, he issues his…
POP INTL: On The Map – Lithuania’s Clara Rockmore
Lithuanian-born Clara Rockmore was a child prodigy on the violin but health problems forced her to abandon playing as a teen. It wasn’t long after, however, that she discovered a new instrument: the…
The Young Instore at End of an Ear
End of an Ear is as great a spot as one can hope for to attend an instore. It lacks any pretentiousness, maintaining the cool, relaxed feel of a neighborhood house show with…
Where Central PA and TX Meet
Central Pennsylvania shares a connection with Central Texas not only in the shared affinity of wild game or the culinary influence of German immigrants but in the love of all things local, seen…
Video: Bowerbirds – “Sweet Moment”
The Bowerbirds’ new video for “Sweet Moment” for the track culled from their recent release The Clearing is full of them–sweet moments that is. Thematically, the video deals with the temporary nature of all…
Video: The Shins – “No Way Down”
The video for The Shins’ newest upbeat indie-pop track “No Way Down,” from their most recent effort Port of Morrow features the band performing the song in a cabin in the woods near Portland,…
Sweden’s jj Release Free Download EP High Summer
As a generous gift to ensure that each of our summers are dreamily blissful, Swedish duo jj have released an EP, High Summer, available as a FREE download. That’s as red, white, and…
Psychedelic Light and Sound at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Calling it a success would be an understatement for exactly how well Psychedelic Light and Sound went down at Cheer Up Charlie’s last weekend. Psychedelic Light and Sound, already in planning for their…
Video: Videoing – “Crimson Wave”
In anticipation of their forthcoming album the Reader LP, out July 10th on Slack Electric, Austin’s Videoing has released a new video for their song “Crimson Wave.” We previously reported about a ton of…
Video: Yeasayer – “Longevity”
Yeasayer’s new song “Longevity” is psychedelic and dub-influenced as it plods along with a pounding beat. The song is accompanied by an equally trippy video. Stop-and-go synth notes open the song before it…
Album Review: Friends – Manifest!
After releasing singles “I’m His Girl” and “Friend Crush” last year, Brooklyn, NY’s Friends garnered massive attention- their jangly 90’s-inspired pop and self-directed lo-fi videos began appearing just about everywhere. It’s no surprise…
Album Review: The Tallest Man on Earth – There’s No Leaving Now
The Tallest Man On Earth created high expectations for himself with his first two albums and with his skilled live performances (if you haven’t, watch his NPR Tiny Desk Concert from after he…
The Cave Singers Live at Red 7
Last week, when the Cave Singers played Red 7 on a Monday night, I wasn’t expecting the absolutely packed house that filled the indoor room. I mean no discredit to the band, comprised…
Track Review: “Weekends” – Tiger Waves
The newest single, “Weekends,” from Austin’s Tiger Waves is incredible. It begins with a brief swelling synth before introducing a swirling beat and electric guitar notes. Following that, layers are incrementally introduced: echoing handclaps,…
Woods Announce Bend Beyond
Wood is set to drop a brand new full-length entitled Bend Beyond on September 18 via Woodsist Records. A limited edition 7″ of the first single from the album will be available at…
Jennifer Moore of Deep Time on Feminism
After Vice magazine recently reviewed the latest album by Grass Widow as “getting together with a couple of other women and some guitars and making your slightly different voices all sync up as…
Divine Fits Release First Single
Divine Fits (which includes Britt Daniel of Spoon, Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, and Sam Brown of New Bomb Turks) has announced the release of their first single, “My Love is Real,” as…
UTOPiAfest Pre-Party at the White Horse
As promised, UTOPiAfest in conjunction with Onion Creek Productions threw a great happy hour party at the White Horse Friday evening. Those of you who weren’t in attendance missed out on Fireman’s 4…
Video: Slow Club – “Beginners” (feat. Daniel Radcliffe)
The UK’s Slow Club has recruited countryman Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame to star in their newest video for the single, “Beginners,” from their album Paradise, out now. In the video, Radcliff wanders around…
Video: Twin Shadow – “Five Seconds”
Twin Shadow (aka George Lewis Jr.) has just released a video to accompany the first single from his forthcoming album Confess. With the Keith Musil directed “Five Seconds” Lewis continues to put out…
Summer Camp Release “Always” Video + French Version
Summer Camp just released a video for “Always”, a second peak at their upcoming EP of the same title (read our track review here). In this lo-fi Oliver Evan directed video, the members…
POP INTL: On The Map – India’s Mohammed Rafi
We’re back this week with “Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hai” by Mohammed Rafi, a song originally recorded for the 1973 film Loafer. Mohammed Rafi is considered one of India’s most beloved and talented…
Video: Teaser for Dirty Projectors’ film Project Hi Custodian
The Dirty Projectors’ Dave Longstreth has posted a teaser trailer for his film project Hi Custodian, which will feature music from the band’s impending full-length Swing Lo Magellan. We’re incredibly psyched for this…
El Perro Del Mar Posts Video for “Innocence is Sense” to Introduce New Album
Swedish sweetheart Sarah Assbring, aka El Perro Del Mar, has posted a video for “Innocence is Sense” on her website, calling it an introduction to her new album, Pale Fire, in the press…
Album Review: Mystery Jets – Radlands
Mystery Jets’ back catalog is full of upbeat, fun tracks: the kind of indie tunes that get you moving. With Radlands, Mystery Jets add another dimension to their music and expand on their…
“Do You Ever?” – G A L P A L S
We’re a bit later than we’d like to be in writing about this great new band right here in our very own back yard of Austin, TX. I first caught G A L…
Track Review: “Second Television” – Mission of Burma
As we previously reported, punk legends Mission of Burma have announced a new album, and have already released one single from that forthcoming LP. Now, the group has released another track, “Second Television,”…
The Tallest Man on Earth Adds Tour Dates
On the heels of his recently released album, There’s No Leaving Now, The Tallest Man on Earth has announced additional tour dates for his already robust touring schedule that includes much of the…
Track Review: “Ruin” – Cat Power
It’s hard to be objective when you’re reviewing one of your longstanding favorite songwriters. “Ruin,” the new track from Cat Power’s just announced album Sun marks the first original material we’ve heard from Chan…
Cat Power Announces New Album, Download Track Now
I can say with totally subjective, fanboy excitement that I am completely beside myself over the news that Cat Power has announced a new album of original material. Sun will be released by Matador…
Track Review: “Islands” – We Were Lovers
Canada’s We Were Lovers has released a new single, “Islands,” from their forthcoming first full-length, Pyramids. The track is a summery dream of steady snare and synths that sound like ripples on the…
Morrissey Announces U.S. Tour
Morrissey will be touring the states this fall with Kristeen Young, including one night with Iggy and the Stooges. Full tour dates below: 10/05 Boston, MA – Wang Theatre 10/06 Waterbury, CT –…
Psychedelic Light and Sound Happens Sunday at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Tomorrow, Sunday June 17th, is the day that Psychedelic Light and sound will occur, featuring 15 bands, bloody mary bar, vendors selling everything from soap to vintage clothing, light shows, and art displays….
UTOPiAfest Adds Ben Kweller to Lineup, More Announcements at Happy Hour Today
Who more positive, upbeat, and representative of small town Texas could UTOPiAfest have snagged than Ben Kweller? The folk-pop star will be one of the primary headliners for 2012’s UTOPiAfest, but more bands…
Track Review: “Dance For You” – Dirty Projectors
Dirty Projectors just released another peek at their upcoming album Swing Lo Magellan and we have to say, we’re pretty excited (you can see our review of “Gun Has No Trigger” here). “Dance…
Y△CHT Live at the Mohawk in Austin
Let me put it this way: at least one member of the Pop Press International staff feels dangerously at risk of quitting their day job, getting a triangle tattoo, and going on an…
Mount Eerie Announces Details for Ocean Roar, Hear mp3 Excerpt
As planned, Phil Elverum, creative force behind Mount Eerie, has announced the details of his forthcoming LP, Ocean Roar, which will act as a counterpoint to the recently released Clear Moon. The album…
Video: Eternal Summers – “Wonder”
Eternal Summers’ new video for “Wonder,” features a girl whose voodoo-like dolls come to life and move around her desk before turning into real-life friends. Her friends happen to be a band of…
Iron and Wine Cover Little Feat
For their new project, a singles club 7″ for Suicide Squeeze called Two Sides of George, Sam Beam and his folk friends have covered a song by Little Feat, whose lead singer was…
David Byrne & St. Vincent Announce Collaborative Album Details, Tour, Download
Rarely is music news so packed with information this exciting! Talking Heads legend David Byrne has announced a collaborative album with indie darling St. Vincent. Love This Giant will be released on September…
Taken by Trees Announces New Album
Taken by Trees, the recording project of one-time Concretes member Victoria Bergsman, will release a new album on October 2nd. Other Worlds will be issued on the Secretly Canadian imprint. The album is…
Art Exhibition: Stephanie Reid – Hidden Places
Photographer and collage artist Stephanie Reid’s solo show Hidden Places is on exhibit now at the Dougherty Arts Center in Austin. Reid’s work is culled from the years she spent living abroad, first in Bangkok,…
Track Review: “Love Some1” – Holy Other
Holy Other has announced that they will be releasing their debut album, Held, on Tri Angle Records on August 27th. The album follows the groups well-received first EP With U, which came out…
Album Review: MV & EE – Space Homestead
MV & EE’s latest offering, Space Homestead, is hardly an album full of contradictions. For as ramshackle as it is, there’s no sound or instrument that seems unexpected or out of place. Still,…
Track Review: “I’ll Be Alright” – Passion Pit
Passion Pit previously released “Take A Walk” from their forthcoming LP Gossamer, and have now issued a second track from that record, which hits shelves on July 23rd. “I’ll Be Alright” features manic…
Track Review: “Shadow” – Wild Nothing
“Shadow” may be a misleading name for the newest single from dream pop project Wild Nothing, who have a new record slated for release in August (details here). The song is full of…
Penguin Books Partners with Algonquin Hotel to Revive Round Table
In a new quarterly event dubbed the Penguin Preview Series at the Round Table, the classic book publisher has partnered with the iconic Algonquin Hotel to revive the Round Table, according to reporters…
Wild Nothing to Release New LP
Wild Nothing is set to release Nocturne, the follow-up to 2010’s excellent Gemini, on August 28. Track list and tour dates are listed below, followed by a stream of the new, just-released track from the…
Dinosaur Jr. Announce “I Bet on Sky”, Tour
Dinosaur Jr. will release their 10th studio album since 1985 on September 18 via Jagjaguwar. A press release about the album states, “The trio has taken everything they’ve learned from the various projects…
Album Review: The Hive Dwellers – Hewn from the Wilderness
Calvin Johnson has made a 30 plus year career out of his endearing impulsivity and his do-what-feels-right mindset. The earliest Beat Happening songs sounded as if they might be totally improvised or at…
Lollapalooza Schedule Announced
Lollapalooza will take place August 3-5 in Chicago’s Grant Park. The line-up includes Jack White, The Wknd, Black Sabbath, the Afghan Whigs, Frank Ocean, The Walkmen, Neon Indian, Twin Shadow, Passion Pit, Sharon…
Thee Oh Sees Announce Album, Tour
Psychedelic rockers The Oh Sees will release Putrifiers II on September 11. In support of the album, the group will tour with Ty Segall in the US, Europe, and Canada. Full tour dates…
UTOPiAfest to Host Happy Hour and Lineup Announcement at White Horse
At the end of this week, Friday evening, the good folks behind UTOPiAfest will be hosting a happy hour to coincide with the announcement of the next wave of acts to perform at…
Video: Deep Time – “Clouds”
Recently Deep Time (formerly Yellow Fever) stopped by Olympia, Washington’s Capitol Theater to film a performance with Grass Widow’s Hannah Lew. Lew combined the images of the performance with those of rolling clouds…
L$D
Grimes, Kreayshawn, Blood Diamonds, and Tragik have collaborated as L$D. Check out “DONT SMOKE MY BLUNT BITCH” below!
It’s Like Sculpting: An Interview with Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum
With his newest effort Clear Moon out now and its counterpart Ocean Roar on the way later this year, prolific and luminary songwriter Phil Elverum corresponded with us via email about the acquisition of his…
Album Review: Gemma Ray – Island Fire
In listening to Gemma Ray’s newest album, Island Fire, out now on Bronzerat, the word chanteuse comes to mind. Perhaps misrepresentative, since the album isn’t loungy at all, but it is a collection…
Psychedelic Light & Sound Floods East Austin June 17th
On June 17th, Cheer Up Charlie’s will host an extravaganza of an event featuring over a dozen different bands on multiple stages, a bloody mary bar, vintage clothes sellers, vegan soapmakers, yard games,…
Reptar at Silencio in Paris, France
David Lynch is well known for expanding the boundaries of the bizarre, and we’ve talked before about the peculiarities of the boys in Athens, Georgia’s Reptar, so it seemed only fitting that one…
Video: Shonen Knife – “Pop Tune”
Since the 80s, Japan’s Shonen Knife have made a career of being the most lovable and insidiously adorable pop-punk girl group in the universe. Shonen Knife is sort of like a cuter, all-girl,…
Video: Dirty Projectors – “The Gun Has No Trigger”
We were totally ecstatic when we first heard the newest single from the Dirty Projector’s forthcoming album, Swing Lo Magellan (details here). The track is one of the most outstanding of the year so…
Fun Fun Fun Fest Gives Prizes for “Guess the Fest”
Fun Fun Fun Fest is already revving up for another stellar year of quality festival happenings, which will take place November 2-4 at Austin’s Auditorium Shores. Just like last year, attendee-hopefuls have the…
Track Review: “And I’m Up” – A Place to Bury Strangers
With a couple of weeks until the release date for A Place to Bury Strangers’ third studio album, Worship, out June 26 on Dead Oceans, the noisy trio have released a new song for…
A Place to Bury Strangers Release New Song, Announce Tour
With a couple of weeks until the release date for A Place to Bury Strangers’ third studio album, Worship, out June 26 on Dead Oceans, the noisy trio have released a new song for…
Free Press Summer Fest Day Two Part Two
Half way through the second day of Free Press Summer Fest, the sun was scorching and we could feel our slight sunburns worsening. However, the Fancy Pants tent cured what ailed us when…
Xiu Xiu and Yamantaka // Sonic Titan at the Mohawk
I’ve never liked the term art rock. Probably because of my own inability to grasp the value of the word as a descriptor of music. However, there really is no other way to…
Pioneering Peruvian Cuisine at Inka Chicken
Since moving here seven years ago, it was Claudia Jordan’s dream to share the gospel of practical and delicious Peruvian cuisine with Austinites. She postponed her restaurant until her children were both in…
Video: Grass Widow – “Goldilocks Zone”
The video for Grass Widow’s “Goldilocks Zone” from their latest album, Internal Logic, was directed by the band’s own Hannah Lew and appears to be set in a 1960’s sci-fi B movie. The…
Jens Lekman Announces New Album; Hear New Single Now
Swedish indie-pop hero Jens Lekman has announced his first studio album in five years! I Know What Love Isn’t will see release through Secretly Canadian on September 3rd. Secretly Canadian promises that the…
Beach House Release New Video for “Lazuli” and Expansive “Frightened Eyes” Tour
Beach House has added an incredbile slew of additional dates to their already extensive tour schedule, and have also just released a video for “Lazuli” from their recent (and phenomenal) album Bloom. For…
Free Press Summer Fest Day Two Part One
Welcome to the first part of our coverage of day 2 of Houston’s Free Press Summer Fest. If you missed our first two days of coverage, then you don’t know about the body…
Track Review: “Sleeping Ute” – Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear just dropped a new single from their currently-untitled follow-up to 2009’s Vecketimist, due September 18. “Sleeping Ute” is an expansive psych-rock piece driven by crashing symbols and intricate guitar playing combined…
Grizzly Bear Announce New Album, World Tour
Grizzly Bear is set to release the follow up to 2009’s Veckatimist, out September 18. No title yet. Tour dates lists below: Aug 28 Cambridge, England – The Junction Aug 29 Nottingham, England…
Track Review: “We Are On Fire” – CocoRosie
CocoRosie just released a new stand-alone single titled “We Are On Fire” via Touch and Go. The single was recorded in Los Angeles this past Winter with David Sitek (TV on the Radio),…
Free Press Summer Fest Day One Part Two (feat. Snoop Dogg and The Flaming Lips)
Yesterday we brought you coverage from some outstanding bands performing at Free Press Summer Fest. Today, we continue that coverage and kick it off by writing about a band that hails from Houston’s neighbor…
Introducing Miss Miniver Rose
Wondering who that was accompanying the Flaming Lips at Free Press Summer Fest in Houston this past weekend? That was Elizabeth Rose Allen, who also goes by the monikers Lizzy or Lizzie Allen…
Track Review: “What You Wanted” – Seapony
Seattle’s Seapony is back with the follow-up to last year’s Go With Me; Recorded in Olympia’s Dub Narcotic Studios, Falling is an energetic pop record that recalls the end of summer and all…
Free Press Summer Fest Day One Part One (feat. Best Coast and Diplo)
Free Press Summer Fest has some serious cred for the following reasons: 1) the festival was started by two organizations that are locally oriented and grassroots, 2) the festival does an amazing job…
The Antlers Live at High Noon Saloon
The Antlers have released two albums to date, “Burst Apart” and “Hospice,” and both have certainly been worthy of repeat listens. The albums harbor another pleasant surprise with every subsequent spin, revealing a…
POP INTL: On the Map – Pakistan’s Nazia Hassan
It’s time to get intercontinental! We thought we’d celebrate the beginning of On the Map with a little pop number from Pakistan. “Disco Deewane”, sung by Nazia Hassan and produced by India’s Biddu,…
Album Review: Shannon Stephens – Pull It Together
Shannon Stephens’ new album, Pull It Together, out now on Ashmatic Kitty Records is a folk-rooted, blues-leaning effort full of soulful melodies and sparse, aching guitar riffs. With her superb singing ability, Stephens…
Flavor at Iguana Grill
Tortilla-wrapped meals to me are more about elemental enjoyment than convenience–more about well-seasoned meats and personalized condiment additions than hand-held ease. This leaves me and others of a similar persuasion on a quest…
Track Review: “Run” – Blonds
Boyfriend-girlfriend duo Blonds have released the first single, “Run,” from their forthcoming LP The Bad Ones. The track was debuted by the good people over at Stereogum, and is sure spread like wildfire…
Videoing Shares Single and Video, Announces Record Release Show
Adreon Henry is one of those guys that is always active, always evolving. Henry was the creative force behind DJ project Car Stereo (Wars), performance art rap-punk group Custodian, and upbeat indie rock…
Free Press Summer Fest Day Two Teaser
Expect full coverage of Houston’s 4th anual Free Press Summer Fest on the site Tuesday and Wednesday. You can read about which bands we saw, which bands were killer, and see great photos…
