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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Free Press Summer Fest Day One Teaser
Early next week, Pop Press International will have extensive coverage of Free Press Summer Fest with an onslaught of phenomenal photographs and write-ups about highlights. For now, we give you eight great photographs from…
Video: Black Keys – “Gold on the Ceiling” (Directed by Harmony Korine)
The Black Keys have teamed up with Harmony Korine, the bizarre director of Gummo, Kids, and Mister Lonely, to make a “film” that utilizes their song “Gold on the Ceiling” from their most recent effort,…
Video: WATERS – “Mickey Mantle”
WATERS, a project that is essentially an outlet for the creative work of one Van Pierszalowski, created after the collapse of his project Port O’Brien, issued its debut, Out in the Light in September of…
Seattle’s Fort Union Preps Debut Album
Seattle’s Fort Union is a difficult band to label. Within only two tracks the group’s style ranges from folk-rock to atmospheric to indie-pop. The group is prepping their first album, which is out…
Read an Excerpt from Mark Baumgarten’s Book – Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of Independent Music
City Arts magazine has made available on their website an excerpt culled from two chapters of Mark Baumgarten’s forthcoming book about K Records, Love Rock Revolution: The Rise of K Records and Independent…
Track Review: “No Hope” – The Vaccines
England’s The Vaccines are beginning to reveal details about their impending sophomore effort. It will be called The Vaccines Come of Age and will be released on September 3rd. Lead singer Justin Young has…
Video: M83 – “Reunion”
The new Fleur & Manu directed M83 video follows the same thematic appeal that the previous video for “Midnight city” did. The story is something like a combination of The Matrix and the…
Track Review: Blood Diamonds feat. Grimes – “Phone Sex”
Canada’s Blood Diamonds (aka Mike Tucker) teamed up with Grimes (aka Claire Boucher) to create a clubbed out pop tune that prominently features Boucher’s delicate, high-pitched vocals. The artwork for the cover of…
Poor Moon Announces Album, Single For Download
Fresh on the heels of a former Fleet Fox releasing one of the best albums of the year and only two months after the release of their EP Illusions, Poor Moon, comprised of two…
Pau Wau Records Hosts Boat Party for Sleep Good’s New 7″
One of the more difficult headlines I’ve written in recent memory, this event encapsulates so many awesome aspects, it’s impossible to compact them into a digestible few words. Sleep Good is releasing a…
Track Review: “Always” – Summer Camp
We previously wrote about the first glimpse of UK duo Summer Camp’s new EP Always, out July 10th on Moshi Moshi, when they revealed the track “Life.” Now, we’ve been blessed with another…
Track Review: “Black Faces” – Childish Gambino
Donald Glover must not sleep. “Black Faces” is his fourth track in as many weeks. What’s more is that the song continues the trend of standout hip-hop styling, with Glover’s fast-paced and fresh…
Free Press Summer Fest In Houston This Weekend
After steadily increasing attendance by 15,000 each year since inception and hosting alumni such as Girl Talk, Yeasayer, and Sharon Jones, this year’s Free Press Summer Fest promises to be the biggest and…
Ana Fernandez – Real Estates and Other Fictions
The work of San Antonio artist Ana Fernandez is stark and realistic, imaginative and surreal. In 2011, Fernandez described her art to the online Latino-focused magazine Gozamos.com as “naturalistic and realistic with elements…
Father John Misty, Har Mar Superstar, and Dana Falconberry Live at the Mohawk
I’ve had the Father John Misty record on repeat in my car since I first listened to it about a month ago. It is, without question, one of my favorites of the year….
Psychedelic Light & Sound Plans to Inundate East Austin
On June 17th, a small collective of working musicians devoted to all things psychedelic will launch a plan to dominate East Austin with light and sound. The event, which will take place at…
Track Review: “To Be Young” – Two Wounded Birds
The song is catchy from the beginning with its isolated notes of shimmering surf-pop. “To Be Young,” the new track from the UK’s Two Wounded Birds is shiny, upbeat, and a perfect track…
Video: Jaill – “House with Haunting”
The new album from Jaill is only a few short weeks from release, and the band has made available a new video for their song, “House With Haunting.” The video makes a persuasive…
Track Review: “Navajo” & “Black Hill Smoke” – Ponderosa
Ponderosa has announced that their new album will be called Pool Party and will see release on July 31st of this year. So far, two cuts from the album have been made available….
RTB2 and No Future Live at Frank
Frank is becoming one of our favorite places to catch a show. Being able to show up early to chow down on a Chicago style veggie dog with a side of tasty waffle…
Track Review: “Perfect Ten” – Jaill
In a little less than a month, Jaill will issue their new full-length Traps on Sub Pop. Preceding that release is “Perfect Ten” The track is a perfect example of the pop single. It…
Utopiafest Announces Initial Lineup
If all of the commotion and clamor surrounding ACL already has you worked up and knotted in stress, the folks over at Utopiafest have the perfect antidote: a small, carefully curated festival in…
Merge Announces New Supergroup Featuring Britt Daniel, Dan Boeckner, and Sam Brown
Just today, Merge announced the existence of a new band, Divine Fits, comprise of indie-rock superheroes Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) and Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks). The trio have already…
ACL Festival Announces Lineup
Austin City Limits has announced the lineup for their three day music festival, which will be held October 12-14 this year, and boasts one of the most impressive line-ups in recent memory. Headliners…
P.W. Elverum & Sun Announce the Anacortes Unknown Music Series #1
After last year’s annual What the Heck Fest, Phil Elverum of Microphones/Mount Eerie/D+/K Records fame announced that the festival would not be continuing into its 11th year. Instead, he and fellow D+ member…
Album Review: Mount Eerie – Clear Moon
Prolific songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Phil Elverum has donned both the monikers Mount Eerie and The Microphones as recording aliases over the years, also tampering with the spelling of his own given name…
The Donkeys Live at ND
Twang emerged as the operative theme of the evening Wednesday at East Austin’s ND, where a well assembled bill of complimentary artists delivered successive solid sets to a room of devoted fans. Paul…
Album Review: Beach House – Bloom
With Bloom, Baltimore’s Beach House has achieved the pinnacle of musical accomplishments, issuing what is arguably the finest record of the year so far, and is likely to remain so. However, Bloom is not…
Arcade Fire & Mick Jagger Perform “She’s A Rainbow” & “Ruby Tuesday” on SNL
For an all-out, pull-no-punches SNL season finale blowout, Mick Jagger acted as host and musical guest and performed songs with Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, and Jeff Beck. In the final scene, Arcade fire…
Ruby Fray and Briana Marela at Wardenclyffe Gallery
This past Sunday marked Ruby Fray’s first show since Emily Beanblossom moved her project from Olympia, Washington several thousand miles to Austin, TX. Having been here for four months settling in, the artist…
Album Review: Maps & Atlases – Beware and Be Grateful
Maps & Atlases have been a slowly productive quartet throughout the past half-decade, releasing a handful of EPs and only one full-length, Perch Patchwork (2010). Now, the group brings us their sophomore LP…
Video: Feist – “Cicadas and Gulls”
“Cicadas and Gulls” is a fantastic track from Feist’s critically acclaimed album Metals. But just now, she has made available a video comprised of a live street performance of the song, backed by…
Dirty Projectors Announce Album Details
Following the simply outstanding debut mp3 “The Gun Has No Trigger” from their forthcoming LP, Swing Lo Magellan, The Dirty Projectors have made available more details regarding the album and its release. July…
Video: “House” – Kindness
Kindness’ new music video for the song “House” is brilliant on so many levels. At the start, Adam Bainbridge waxes philosophical about the cultural importance of pop music and then elicits some help…
Track Review: “1904” – The Tallest Man On Earth
Though The Tallest Man On Earth’s new album, There’s No Leaving Now, has been announced for some time, today marks the first sounds released from the record that will follow on June 12th….
Track Review: “Let Me Dream If I Want To” – Obits
Obits, a band comprised of indie-rock all-stars from bands such as Drive Like Jehu, Edsel, and Pitchfork, have released a new single on SubPop, who also released the band’s first two full-lengths. The…
Track Review: “Sirena” – Tara Jane O’Neil
Tara Jane O’Neil’s first solo material since 2009 comes on the K imprint in the form of a 7” single in the International Pop Underground series. The A side, “Sirena,” a tribute to…
Film Review: The Dictator
Long before Sacha Baron Cohen became renowned as Borat and then pushed boundaries even further as Bruno, he was luring notable personalities into bewildering conversations as British rapper Ali G. In every case,…
Album Review: Father John Misty – Fear Fun
Over the past six years, Josh Tillman has directed a quietly prolific career, releasing seven albums while holding down responsibilities as the drummer of the wildly successful band Fleet Foxes. Tillman’s eighth album…
Track Review: “Underground” – Broken Water
The new single “Underground” from the Olympia noise trio Broken Water comes to us a little over a week before the release of, Tempest their third effort, and first for Seattle’s Hardly Art label….
Olympia’s Broken Water Announces Tour, New Song
Olympia noise rock outfit Broken Water has announced a string of dates throughout the western United States surrounding the release of their third effort, Tempest, which drops on May 29th on Hardly Art…
Tennis Live in Austin at the Parish
Austin loves Tennis. Evidence: the absolutely packed house of attentive fans at their show this past Tuesday at the Parish. And Tennis loves Austin. Evidence: they were just here for SXSW (second year…
Track Review: “The March” – 2:54
Songstress sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow have released another song in advance of their forthcoming, eponymous album, but you won’t find this b-side among the tracks when it drops later this month. “The…
Track Review: “Dust Devil” – Mission of Burma
Beginning in 1979, Mission of Burma quickly achieved notoriety in the underground punk scene, only to disband four short years later. 2012 marks the 10th year since the band reunited after almost two…
Youth Lagoon Announce Tour with Father John Misty
After finishing a string of dates opening for Death Cab For Cutie, followed by a brief rest, Trevor Powers will take his recording project Youth Lagoon out for a headline tour in July, supported…
Album Review: Toro Y Moi – June 2009
June 2009 is a retrospective of songs recorded around the same time as Toro Y Moi’s acclaimed debut Causers of This. The assemblage of ten tracks feels like anything but a collection of…
Marmalakes EP Release Party
From the moment I walked through the heavy wooden doors of the Scottish Rite Theater, it was obvious that Marmalakes’ EP release party for In Arnica would not be a standard affair. I…
Video: Tennis – “My Better Self”
As the shot opens, Alaina Moore, Patrick Riley, and James Barone, along with two back-up dancers/singers, stand on stage, shrouded in darkness and fog. Thus begins Tennis’ new video for “My Better Self,” directed…
Allo Darlin’ with The Wave Pictures and No Future Live at the Mohawk
Accolades are in order for whoever put together the bill at Austin’s Mohawk this past Tuesday night. Each band complimented the others perfectly, sharing enough common ground to provide a bridge from one…
The Importance of the Paris Review
The Paris Review proudly stands as one of the last bastions of literary journals delivering notable literature and artwork. The quarterly publication began in 1953, founded by George Plimpton, Peter Matthiessen, and Harold…
Track Review: “Creeping” – 2:54
“Creeping,” the new track from UK sibling duo 2:54, preceding the May 28th release of their eponymous debut on Fat Possum, is a song in two mirrored acts. In act one, steady distorted…
Hospitality and Eleanor Friedberger at Frank in Austin, TX
It’s difficult for us to hide our infatuation with Brooklyn based indie-pop quartet Hospitality. When we heard they would be opening for Eleanor Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces at Frank in Austin, we…
Track Review: “The Gun Has No Trigger” – Dirty Projectors
Dave Longstreth is just the kind of avant-garde musical genius who bases an entire track on female backing crooning and simple snare and manages to have it come off as brilliant. The backing…
Track Review: “Clouds” – Deep Time
Preceding the release of their sophomore effort as a duo, and debut under the moniker Deep Time (formerly Yellow Fever), the group’s label Hardly Art has made one track available for download. “Clouds”…
Bon Iver Taping at Austin City Limits
Currently in taping for its 38th season, Austin City Limits is a stalwart, monolithic television program unlike any other. The fact that the program has achieved this with unwavering dedication to music has…
Belaire Album Release Party with Deep Time and Good Field
Austin has been waiting a long time for a record from electro-pop group Belaire. But the wait is over. Helmed by Cari Palazzolo, the line-up also includes Cari’s twin sister Christa and Matt…
Connected Aesthetics: Talking with Keep Shelly in Athens
In considering their visceral videos for songs such as “Our Own Dream” and the consistent backdrop of layered videos projected behind the band during their recent set at the Mohawk in Austin, it…
Film Reivew: The Five-Year Engagement
Jason Segel is an ambitiousguy—continuing his duties starring in a television series (How I Met Your Mother), while finding time to write and produce films. First we were given the much adored Forgetting…
Field Report Live in Austin at The Mohawk
If you could bottle a storm, the result would be Field Report. The thunder vibrating powerfully, but quietly muffled against the glass. The lightning flashing, beautifully charged. Field Report knows how to keep…
Album Review: Hospitality – Hospitality
Hospitality’s self-titled debut album employs indie-pop sensibilities, infectious hooks, and dynamic rhythms to achieve a well rounded and convincing first effort. Hospitality has been long anticipated in some regards, since the band formed…
Travis Nichols: Wholly DIY
To say that Travis Nichols’ recent event at the Bronze Doors Academy simply functioned to support his new book, Matthew Meets the Man, ignores other, clearly salient reasons: interacting with the community and…
Gallery Opening: Christie Blizard – When I Was 16, I Saw the White Buffalo
Christie Blizard’s new solo show, When I Was 16, I Saw the White Buffalo, is open now at Women and Their Work, a gallery in Austin, TX that commands respect for its unwavering…
Film Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Since first leaving the theater after watching Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, I’ve been describing it to friends as Indiana Jones done as a British comedy. While it does not necessarily borrow only…
Film Review: The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games succeeds in its writing, acting, ambitious cinematography and set design, but a more fundamental examination of the structure of the original text bears primary responsibility for its achievement. Whether in…
Shearwater – “You As You Were”
Shearwater’s first video from their new album, Animal Joy, represents everything you would expect from such a focused, unique, and beautiful band. “You As You Were” was directed by Alix Lambert and features…
Album Review: Shearwater – Animal Joy
Austin based, genre-fusing indie outfit Shearwater has again produced one of the finest albums of the year, or the past few for that matter. Claiming that Shearwater is inaccessible (as some might) is…
SXSW 2012 Highlights Day 4
By the time Friday of SXSW dawns, if you aren’t battling exhaustion and the uncertainty of wondering if you’re hung over or still plain drunk when you wake up at noon, you clearly…
Film Review: Jeff Who Lives at Home
For the Duplass Brothers’ new feature, Jeff Who Lives at Home, they’ve recruited some of the most prominent names possible in quirky, real-life comedy, Ed Helms and Jason Segel. True to form, the Duplass brothers create…
SXSW 2012 Highlights Day 3
A day show at SXSW has the potential to be the great equalizer. If the sponsor chooses not to offer special access to badge holders or wristband wearers, adopting an equal opportunity stance,…
Down River Swimmers: An Interview with Tennis
Like many of the buzzworthy bands at SXSW, Tennis’s name is almost everywhere you look. With almost a dozen performances, including two official showcases, Tennis is one of the busiest and most popular…
SXSW 2012 Highlights Day 2
Day shows have always been an honored tradition for SXSW goers. Though the official SXSW entity has been known to attempt to reign in and control what shows bands playing official showcases can…
SXSW 2012 Highlights Day 1
With each passing year, SXSW has increased the number of bands, shows, parties, and even days the festival utilizes. Once only Wednesday through Saturday, in 2012, the music festival portion of SXSW stretched…
Film Review: Chronicle
At 27 and 26 years old, director Josh Trank and screenwriter Max Landis have broken cinematic history, becoming some of the youngest directors and screenwriters to work on a #1 box office film. …
Video: Youth Lagoon – “Montana”
To be honest, writing about videos wasn’t something we ever planned on at Pop Press. Our staff, largely, is full of word nerds who tend toward the literary side of music criticism rather…
Circle Brewery Tour
Austin’s support of all things local, its commitment to mass beer consumption, and its, laid back pretentiousness (we’re actually not knocking it) create the perfect conditions for successful craft breweries. As of late,…
Album Review: Tennis – Young and Old
Opener “It All Feels the Same” from Tennis’s new effort, Young and Old, accurately pinpoints the potential dilemma for any band facing the dread of the sophomore slump. The question of how to…
The Mountain Goats Live at Antone’s in Austin
Often, a band garners a compliment of being “great” live by playing their instruments with particular skill, carefully recreating intricate soundscapes from their recorded album, or introducing nuanced deviations from original incarnations of…
Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad
Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 gives us 13 profiles of some of the most integral and influential bands in the history of underground music….
