Posts by Joey Willis

Austin has no shortage of musical acts, so it’s little surprise that many decide to collaborate on side projects. Such is the case with Loma, a team up between Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg and the duo Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski of Cross Record. This resulted in a critically praised eponymous album and a subsequent tour […]

[rating=7.00] Almost two decades on from the release of their debut EP, 5 Songs, The Decemberists have finally decided to take their sound in a new direction. Up to this point, the band has garnered quite the following with their mostly acoustic-based indie songs that, more often than not, center around lyrics that tell tales […]

[rating=4.00] Two decades on from meeting while touring with their respective bands, Mike Stroud (Ratatat) and Agustin White (White Flight) have formed a new collaborative project, KUNZITE. Their debut LP, Birds Don’t Fly, came together via emails between band members across continents with spontaneous recording sessions in Hawaii, New York, California, Iceland, and even India. […]

[rating=8.00] After relocating to Stockholm from his native town of Umeå in Sweden, Hannes Ferm, aka HOLY, began the process of making his second LP. All These Worlds Are Yours is both similar and different from his debut, Stabs. While both are solidly planted in 60’s era garage-psych rock, this new project has a much […]

[rating=7.00] UK art rockers Django Django are back with their third album, Marble Skies. The album finds the London-based band expanding further the electro-psych sounds that permeated their first two albums. Django Django have a special ability to take all of their seemingly disparate influences and meld them together to make something all their own, […]

Since their debut album, B.R.M.C., in 2001, San Francisco-based rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have garnered a steady following of fans. Though their name brings to mind a band that might have more heavy metal leanings, the trio actually has a foot solidly in the rock and roll world, releasing albums that range from […]

After the unfortunate cancellation of Sound on Sound Fest, the bookers of the festival worked to get as many of the artists scheduled to play into venues around Austin during the original festival dates. Currently touring in support of their excellent new LP, Painted Ruins (REVIEW), SOS fest was originally slated to be the only Texas […]

It’s almost difficult to believe that we are now twenty years out from 1997 and all the great music that was released that year. Grunge was on the verge of taking its last breath and nu metal hadn’t yet left its mark, for better or worse, on the decade. Experimentation reigned and many bands’ releases […]

To say that rock and roll is deeply imbedded in the history and culture of the Western world would be an over simplification to the extent of which music holds sway over us. Even though genres like hip-hop, many forms of electronica, and pop have dominated the airwaves the past two decades, they all find […]

[rating=7.00] Since the release of their debut full-length LP, Holy Water Pool, in 2015, Michigan-born psych-rock band Heaters have been churning out an album each year. Matterhorn is the follow-up to last years, Baptistina and continues in the same vein as their previous work. Following the departure of co-frontman Andrew Tamlyn last year, the now […]

[rating=8.00] Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile are both respected songwriters in their own right. After meeting each other and jamming, the pair decided to make a split EP which eventually evolved into a full-fledged album, Lotta Sea Lice. Being that Barnett lives in Australia and Vile in the US, most song writings took place via […]

It may not come to a surprise to anyone that Sunday made for a pretty lazy day, both in terms of the bands playing and the energy of the audience after a weekend full of heat. Most of the day’s schedule lacked any real conflicts for anyone and most times warranted a response like, “I […]

It’s no surprise that the second day of Austin City Limits Music Festival saw an influx of people attending earlier in the day. Many of the younger demographic found themselves watching A$AP Ferg, however most of the rest of the day was ruled by good ol’ Rock ‘n Roll. Nineties nostalgia reigned as LĪVE started […]

While many around the country are going to Oktoberfest events and starting to plan for Halloween, the thoughts of people in Austin are on the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Whether it you are attending it, wishing you can afford it, or complaining about how bad traffic is going to be, there is no avoiding […]

Austin’s festival season is probably the only thing longer than its summer. Kicking off with SXSW in March and lasting until Sound on Sound Fest (formerly Fun Fun Fun Fest) in November, almost every weekend seems to have some sort of festival or event going on celebrating stuff like hot sauce, oysters, ice cream, or […]

Love them or hate them, there is no denying that Arcade Fire know how to put on a show. Whether it’s a stage full of mirrors for the Reflektor tour, a massive billboard used as a screen for The Suburbs tour, or playing on a stage in the middle of the audience, as they are […]

[rating=7.00] Brooklyn-based band The National have been making music together for almost two decades. The 2007 release of Boxer brought the band both widespread critical acclaim and increased exposure. Following the release of 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me, the band curated a 59-track charity tribute album to the Grateful Dead called The Day of the […]

[rating=8.00] Over two decades out from the release of their debut, Mogwai Young Team, Scottish post-rockers Mogwai are still consistently releasing great material. While there has been some flirtation (and in the case of Rave Tapes, embracing of) the use of electronics and synths, the main formula of lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces with dynamic contrast, […]

[rating=6.00] The psychedelic rock scene is efficacious in Australia. From Tame Impala in Perth to The Baudelaires in Melbourne, the psychedelic movement is as alive in Oz as it is in the rest of The West. Newcomers to the scene, The Babe Rainbow bring their contribution with their self-titled debut produced by Eric Moore from […]

[rating=7.00] After a period of loneliness and depression on tour, Adam Granduciel wrote and recorded the third album for his band The War on Drugs, Lost in the Dream, which received universal acclaim and increased exposure for the band. The release of A Deeper Understanding still adheres to a lot of the same introspective themes […]