The Wimps Make Austin Debut at Cheer Up Charlies
“We wimpin’?!” yelled Cameron Bina of Strange Mother during the band’s opening set at Cheer Up Charlies last weekend. He was referring to Seattle-based touring band the Wimps, who headlined the show. The…
BOOHER Celebrates Vinyl Release at Cheer Up Charlies Saturday
Mixing vulnerable lyricism with big rock musicianship and careful flourishes, BOOHER makes songs that are immediately likable and yield greater nuance with repeat listens. Behind the music is Michael Booher, who’s been making…
Wimps Play Cheer Up Charlies Sunday 6/18
Masters of awkward pop. Purveyors of no-frills punk. Ambassadors of lo-fi rock. However you want to describe Seattle band Wimps, there’s a lot to love about this trio. Carrying the torch of the style…
Alex Napping Releases Mise En Place Friday May 5 at Cheer Up Charlies
With three members based in Austin and songwriter Alex Cohen spending much of her time in NYC, Alex Napping playing in Austin is sadly lesson common than it once was. But Cohen is back in town to…
Pageantry Celebrates Influence Album Release Tonight at Cheer Up Charlies
A few weeks ago, we were privileged to premiere “Teenage Crime Wave,” an excellent track from Dallas band Pageantry’s outstanding new collection of dream pop songs. The group’s new album, Influence, officially drops today, and…
Big Bill Played the First and Best SXSW Show We Saw
The day before SXSW 2016 began, I wrote, “I can’t think of another current Austin band more iconic or resonant,” regarding weirdo punk rockers Big Bill. The band evidenced their vitality the next day…
SXSW 2016’s Most Exciting Acts
Tomorrow, the monster that is SXSW descends upon a sleepy river town in central Texas. Hundreds of local bands will rub shoulders with thousands more traveling from all over the world. Every parking lot…
Show Preview: Stacked Bill of Local Acts at Cheer Up Charlies Tonight (ATX)
Our privileged Austin experience means that a stacked bill of outstanding local acts constitutes almost every weekend at Cheer Up Charlies, or any number of our Red River district live music venues. Still,…
Julia Lucille’s Tape Release at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
Last Friday at Cheer Up Charlies, songstress Julia Lucille performed in celebration of her new cassette, The Bedroom Tapes Volume One, which features songs she has written periodically on the occasion of each…
Julia Lucille Shares Bedroom Recordings Inspired by the New Moon
Last summer, songwriter Julia Lucille moved into an Airstream trailer in the woods for a few months after a breakup. There, Lucille began to write and record sparse bedroom songs each new moon as a way of…
Lomelda Celebrates Forever Tonight at Cheer Up Charlies
Warm and intimate, Waco-based band Lomelda’s debut album Forever feels familiar on the first listen. Rest assured, the arrangements are fresh: dexterous, syncopated rhythms and multi-tracked vocals meander through mellow grooves and build to…
Julia Lucille’s Emergent Performance at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
Over the past half year or so, I’ve seen Julia Lucille perform a handful of times. She always delivers haunting, ethereal performances that hinge on her floating vocal delivery and ghostly guitar picking….
Towers of Youth: Celebrating Life with Raw Paw
When Raw Paw takes over a venue, they take over a venue. The upstart arts collective utilizes every inch of available space, filling it with vibrant art installations and playful games. Last time it was…
Grooves Galore at Cheer Up Charlie’s with Taft & Sweet Spirit
I liked Taft before Thursday night, but the group’s performance at Cheer Up Cahrlie’s last week exhibited new levels of vitality. From the first time I saw Taft, I always felt the band, guided by…
Coffee With Daniel Francis Doyle
I was first exposed to Daniel Francis Doyle on YouTube, seeing a guy in a sweaty gray heather tee shirt playing a natural-finished Fender Stratocaster with a dry overdriven sound in a room…
Knifight Bathed Cheer Up Charlies with Waves of Dark Pop: Live Review
Many of argued the importance and influence of both New Order and Joy Division on contemporary independent music. Friday night at Cheer Up Charlie’s provided some undeniable evidence as the venue showcased two…
True Sincerity Issue #2
Fans of honest Austin talent flocked to Cheer Up Charlie’s this past Friday night to celebrate the release of the second issue of True Sincerity written by Pop Press International’s own Editor-In-Chief, Bryan C….
Reminiscing on Free Week: A Belated Gallery
Not too long ago, a sweet phenomenon going by the name Free Week swept across town for the twelfth consecutive year, and though it has only been one month, it seems as if so much more…
Jousting with Death at Young Tongue’s Album Release Show
Saturday night at Cheer Up Charlie’s served as the launchpad for Austin rockers Young Tongue to share their debut full-length with the world. The band recently released Death Rattle through Punctum Records, who…
What A Strange Trip: PPI Does Free Week, Again
Saturday night, Pop Press International hosted our second Free Week show at Cheer Up Charlie’s. Their cozy interior was the ideal venue on a cold and rainy weekend evening. Familiar faces spotted the crowd…
Free Week is Upon Us: Our Recommendations
Free Week in Austin serves to underscore the major problem with loving independent music and living here. If you’re a casual fan of music or a normal person capable of recognizing that one simply…
Matthew Squires Takes Us Where the Music Goes to Die
Matthew Squires is a truth-teller. Or he’s trying to be. Telling the truth is hard–next to impossible, really. All we can do is work tirelessly, fearlessly to try to tell the truth, attempting to…
Night Drive & Ishi’s Dark Dance Party at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Two outstanding synth-pop bands performed on Cheer Up Charlie’s outdoor stage this weekend. Dallas based Ishi brought jubilant and shimmering pop that demands dancing. John Mudd certainly feels the call to get down,…
Lo-Fi Pop Purveyors Memory Boys & Electrician at Cheer Up Charlie’s Wednesday, Oct 29th
If you frequent the pages of Pop Press International, you know we have the deepest love for two of the nation’s music communities. One is of course Austin, where we live and see…
The Debut of Dark West
There’s something indescribably miraculous about seeing a band perform their first show. Most of our days are filled with jobs and trips to the grocery store, car rides in traffic and “to do”…
Midnight Masses, BLXPLTN, Tennis System at Cheer Up: Live Review
Autry Fulbright, the creative force behind Midnight Masses and member of Trail of Dead, exuded raw energy at the group’s final U.S. show before departing on a European tour. As the band plays…
Moonsicles, Borrisokane, and Van Allen Belt at Cheer Up Charlie’s: Live Review
With so many high profile events in Austin, it’s easy to forget that great music happens on a nightly basis. While much of the public can barely keep up with which festival is…
Midnight Masses, BLXPLTN Play Cheer Up Charlie’s Tomorrow
The music never stops. Forget the fact that you’re tired after two weekends of ACL. Tomorrow night brings you a must-see show. Midnight Masses, the project of …And You Will Know Us by…
Between the Weekends: Borrisokane, Moonsicles, Van Allen Belt at Cheer Up Tomorrow
When the ACL weekends come along, it’s interesting to see how many coworkers are sluggish throughout the next week. But for some true believers, this is a constant way of life. We can’t get enough…
Alex Napping’s Album Release at Cheer Up Charlie’s: Live Review
To celebrate the release of their debut LP This Is Not A Bedroom, Alex Napping recruited a standout lineup of Austin bands–Big Bill, Soft Swells, and Löwin–to play alongside them on Friday night at…
Alex Napping Celebrates Album Release at Cheer Up Charlies Friday, September 26th
With namesake Alex Cohen at the helm, indie-pop four-piece Alex Napping will celebrate the release of their debut LP tomorrow night, September 25th at Cheer Up Charlies. This is Not a Bedroom dropped earlier…
You’re Here! Fall Kick-Off at Cheer Up Charlies
Last SXSW, Pop Press International joined forces with local label Punctum Records, non-profit organization Attendance Records, recording studio Estuary, and tape label Accrue Cassettes, along with a few other entities and sponsors, to…
Yonatan Gat Brings Killer Live Show to Cheer Up Charlies Tonight
This summer, I stumbled into catching a set by ex-Monotonix member Yonatan Gat. Floored doesn’t quite cover how taken I was with the performance, which had me sputtering incomprehensible praises of the show for…
Seattle Band iji Wows Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
I met Zach Burba on my recent trip to Seattle at a Lake / Bouquet show at Hollow Earth Radio. When I told Zach I was from Austin, he said he’d be playing…
Matthew Squires Performs Endearing Guitar Pop at Cheer Up Charlies
Although I’ve written about Matthew Squires and listened to his music, I had managed to be occupied during almost every show he’s played until this week at Cheer Up Charlies. As one would…
Moonsicles at Cheer Up Charlies: Review & Photos
Austin band Moonsicles is something of an early 2000s dream team. The band consists of Carolyn Cunningham of Pillow Queens, Aaron Russell and Lindsey Verrill of Weird Weeds, and Sheila Scoville of Ichi Ni San Shi…
Jess Williamson & RF Shannon Celebrate Split 7″ at Cheer Up Charlies
We’ve been singing the praises of these players for months now. Punctum Records managed to get two of Austin’s best artists on a record together. Last week, the label released a split 7″…
Hikes EP Release at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
After seeing Hikes perform a few times, I’m convinced they’re one of Austin’s most exciting bands. The young outfit of math rock musicians are closely affiliated with rising DIY collective Raw Paw, who sponsored the…
RF Shannon / Jess Williamson Split Out Today, Release Show Saturday at Cheer Up Charlies
We’ve already told you how excited we are for RF Shannon & Jess Williamson’s split 7″, out today on Punctum Records. Both artists will celebrate the release with a show on Saturday at…
Cleanup & Chipper Jones at Cheer Up Charlie’s: Review & Photos
Earlier this week, instrumentally-focused math rock bands Chipper Jones and Cleanup played at Cheer Up Charlie’s. Both bands are part of a current trend that’s seeing a revival of styles of indie rock…
True Sincerity Release Party: Thoughts & Photos
I’ve been careful not to slather Pop Press International with plugs for True Sincerity, even though both are my creations. However, one of the reasons I started Pop Press International was to be…
Austin Cassette Fest Happens Tomorrow
As independent music’s interest in tangible products and analog formats has grown, so has the number of tape labels. Once relegated to the late eighties and early nineties, tape labels have sprung up…
The Golden Dawn Arkestra Arrives at Cheer Up Charlies
You were warned. Or at least, the patrons of Cheer Up Charlies were warned. Before taking the stage on Friday night, The Golden Dawn Arkestra paraded the perimeter of Cheer Up Charlies blaring…
True Sincerity Hosts First Issue Release Show at Cheer Up Charlies
I started Pop Press International to document, support, and dialogue about music in Austin and around the world. In March, I launched True Sincerity for similar reasons, but the project also serves to…
Instrumental Pop Band Chipper Jones at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review & Photos
After we caught the Attendance Records benefit show at Holy Mountain, we were able to swing by Cheer Up Charlies to catch the tail end of a set by instrumental pop act Chipper…
Growl, Mole People, Party Girl, & Those Howlings at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
We adored the old Cheer Up Charlies. And while the east side locale will always hold a special place in our hearts, there’s no denying how completely awesome the new space is. In…
Post Rock Band Chipper Jones Video Premiere: “amarillo/headrush”
Although Austin is not a city known for its experimental pop and instrumental post-rock, such as that created by duo Chipper Jones, the genre does have a presence and a precedent in this…
Speak’s Joey Delahoussaye & Battle Bend Share Stage at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
My Saturday was full of all kinds of quiet, introspective music. Before seeing Reservations and Sarah Neufeld, I stopped by Cheer Up Charlies to see a set by Speak’s Joey Delahoussaye & Battle Bend,…
Tele Novella at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
Saturday night, Tele Novella celebrated the release of their new single, “Trouble in Paradise.” Over the last two weeks, we already brought you coverage of the A-side and the B-side, so you already…
Alex Napping at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
We’ve seen Alex Cohen perform a solo set before, but her set on Monday night at Cheer Up Charlies with her full band showcased a wholly different project. Onstage, all four member of…
RF Shannon Releases Hunting Songs, Plays Cheer Up Charlies Thursday
Last week, we brought you coverage of RF Shannon’s excellent album release show at Mohawk. Today is the official release date for the band’s album Hunting Songs, available for purchase now at Punctum Records’…
Cheer Up Charlies’ Triumphant Reopening
As I walk up to Cheer Up Charlie’s on Friday night, I’m at once astounded by the line, which snakes back from the venue’s gate and down Red River. For the past couple…
Stream New EP From Whiite Walls Now; Release Show Friday
Whiite Walls is 1979. The band’s new EP embodies that musical era when the lines between dance and punk began to blur. There’s a little bit of disco, lots of hi-hat, twinkling guitar…
Free Week Report: Daniel Francis Doyle, Shivery Shakes, & Tiger Waves at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Dan Doyle (perhaps best known by his performing moniker and full name Daniel Francis Doyle) creates songs that possess an intriguing relationship with melody. In his songs, Doyle holds a melody, translucent and…
