Posts by Joey Willis

[rating=7.00] Born in Cameroon, Lætitia Tamko moved to New York at the beginning of high school and much of the content on her debut LP Infinite Worlds is colored through the lens of this move. Tamko aka Vagabon has been around music in its many forms in both Cameroon and New York and has become an […]

[rating=8.00] “What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because […]

[rating=7.00] After five years as Mr. Elevator & The Brain Hotel, the Psych-Pop trio from Los Angeles has decided to shorten their moniker to just Mr. Elevator in conjunction with their sophomore release When the Morning Greets You. While there is no shortage of bands in the modern psych-pop scene, Mr. Elevator differentiates themselves by […]

[rating=7.00] Since releasing their debut album Electric Toys in 2010, New York City based indie-rockers The Dig have garnered a fair amount of critical praise. Though their albums do a great job of creating a different overall feel from each other, they also carry a similar thread of utilizing both instruments and vocals to create […]

[rating=7.00] Jason Narducy’s career follows a different path than most and though isn’t a well-known name, he has been a support player in many celebrated acts. As a bassist he has played with Bob Mould Band (of Hüsker Dü fame) and Superchunk, as well as being credited in the Sonic Highways documentary with forming the […]

This year marked the inaugural year of Sound on Sound Fest (SOS), formerly Fun Fun Fun Fest, and proved that it has what it takes to place within the Austin festival circuit. Though it still had some hiccups throughout the weekend, many times they led to memorable experiences and fun. Sound issues led to impromptu […]

As festival season draws to an end across the Northern Hemisphere, one smaller festival in Austin has created a kind of bookend each year for festival-goers. Formerly called Fun Fun Fun Festival, this year marks the debut of the newly christened Sound on Sound (SOS) Festival created by the same promoters under a new moniker […]

[rating=7.00] When most people think of Russia, rock music is not something that comes to mind. For many, the amount of Russian bands they know could be counted on less than one hand, and for most on less than one finger. However, the five-piece band Motorama from Rostov-on-Don, Russia has been recording post-punk and, more […]

Everybody likes a lazy Sunday afternoon and that is exactly what festival-goers got for the final day of the first weekend of ACL. With a lineup that consisted of more low-key bands and headliners that included Mumford & Sons and LCD Soundsystem. The weather held out with sunny skies and a nice breeze. Many stages […]

Whether it is due to it not being a school day or the fact that many more hip-hop and electronic artists were due to perform, or maybe both, ACL’s second day saw a sharp influx in the amount of attendees that weren’t old enough to legally drink and those that like to binge drink with […]

While many round the country are going to Oktoberfest events and starting to plan for Halloween, the thoughts of people in Austin are on Austin City Limits Music Festival aka ACL Fest. Whether it you are attending it, wishing you can afford it, or complaining about how bad traffic is going to be, there is […]

[rating=7.00] London-based duo Ultimate Painting have only been together since 2014 but have been pretty prolific during that time, releasing an album each year. The band is made up of Jack Cooper and James Hoare, who met when on tour together with their other bands Mazes and Veronica Falls, respectively. They share songwriting and singing […]

[rating=8.00] Rock music of the early 90’s found itself in a transitionary period. New Wave was ready to take a break for a few decades, Glam Metal was gasping its last breath while Kurt Cobain twisted the knife, and hip-hop was starting to gain chart positions normally held by pop and rock artists. Bands started […]

The early Nineties rock scene was dominated by the grunge movement. Ripped up jeans, thrift store clothing, long hair, Doc Martens and flannel became the style of choice. Though there were many grunge bands, most music fans knew the big five: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots. All but STP […]

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 […]

[rating=9.00] For the two-plus decades that Wilco has been recording, each album has had its own unique soundscape. From alt-country albums like A.M. and Being There, the pop-rock of Summerteeth, the 70’s roots rocker Sky Blue Sky, or the noise-rock of A Ghost is Born and last year’s Star Wars. Though the band’s tenth studio […]

[rating=7.00] The Fresh & Onlys’ frontman Tim Cohen has been pretty prolific over the past five years. Splitting his time between creating music with The Fresh & Onlys, solo songs, and Magic Trick, Cohen’s most recent work Other Man’s Blues is the follow up to Magic Trick’s 2013 release River of Souls. With this project […]

[rating=7.00] New York’s Hollis Brown has had a great couple of years. Last year saw the band opening up for Counting Crows on a country-wide tour of the U.S. and they are currently on a headlining tour of their own. The group brings together rock, country and blues to create their own timeless sound that […]

Rock music in the 90’s may be best known for combining many “non-rock” elements together and many times crossing genres. Artists like Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Radiohead were so outside of traditional rock that they are truly Alternative. Where bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam took elements of heavy metal and created grunge, […]

Normally, attending a concert of a band from the 60’s and 70’s can be a pretty predictable experience. Most of their set lists on tour will be identical and will mostly be made up of the hits that they put out during their heyday with maybe a few songs from their new album sprinkled in. […]