Posts by Lee Ackerley

A confluence of three high-caliber metal bands initiated a supernova at Emo’s in Austin, Texas on Saturday March 9th, outshining the myriad of SXSW popups, activations and secret shows twinkling around the city. Progressive and black metal fans were treated to a pairing of two titanic bands, Deafheaven and Baroness, playing back-to-back sets that imbued […]

FIDLAR ripped onto the scene in 2012 with a slew of adolescence-embracing, reckless rock anthems for their self-titled debut album. Nearly seven years after “Cheap Beer”, “No Waves” and “Wake Bake Skate” they are back with their third full-length album, Almost Free, which employs some new tricks but mostly stays true to the band’s debauched, […]

Emo’s, as a popular music venue in Austin, is no stranger to hosting sold out shows. However, there are shows that happen to sell all available tickets and then there are ‘Sold Out’ shows – the latter possessing a distinct amplified energy that gives all those present a collective feeling of witnessing something special. This […]

A cold rainy night in Austin on October 19 set the backdrop for an intimate concert by the suave-electro quartet, Bob Moses. Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance are two Canadians who went to high school together in Vancouver but didn’t start making music together until they crossed paths in a NYC Lowe’s parking lot. Three […]

Canadian noise rock trio Metz returned to Austin on Wednesday, October 3 and proceeded to eviscerate a crowd of cochlear sadists. The audience beholden to the Canuck rockers was an eclectic mix of bespectacled hipsters and juvenile anarchists. Barracuda proved to be a perfect venue for the amp-rattling bands that made up the bill, and […]

[rating=9.00] The Austin-based duo Ghostland Observatory – Aaron Behrens and Thomas Ross Turner – haven’t released an album in eight years, an eternity in the ADD-like music industry, but the synth-heavy excitement pulsates and shines like new throughout the new album.  While the hiatus may have left Ghostland on the sidelines for the past few […]

[rating=8.00] The sound remains the same, and for a band like Interpol, that’s not a terrible thing. Their sixth studio album, Marauder, has the same twinkling guitars and apathetic vocals that serve as perfect catnip to loyal fans. Where the latest album diverges, is in it’s more chaotic song structure and personalized lyrics. Drums are […]

[rating=5.00] The Lemon Twigs have taken liberties. Their latest album, Go To School, is a musical about a monkey’s trials and tribulations of fitting into a human school. While there are unmistakable flashes of brilliance, and the premise itself is an admirable undertaking, the album plunges through redundant, narrative-driven background music. For a band that […]

The Twins of Evil 2018 tour, featuring Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, was an example of duality on many levels. The two industrial metal heavyweights, who arrived in Austin’s Circuit of the America’s venue during the dog days of a Texas summer on August 17, served as a stark example of how a rockstar can […]

It’s easy to tear down a music festival. The festival is too crowded, the lineup is too one-sided, or the tickets are too expensive. The fact is, music festival’s are inherently a hassle and the only redeeming quality, at least for most festivals, is the seemingly intangible ‘magic’ that they can offer to attendees.   […]

A sweltering night in June would provide the backdrop for an intimate performance by Ray LaMontagne and Neko Case, who hit Austin on June 9. While Circuit of the Americas is a world-class venue, the summer months in Texas tend to take its toll on the audience situated in an open air seating arrangement. Yet, […]

[rating=8.00] Six albums in eight years defies the conventional laws of supply and demand for most bands. Even the most ardent fans might have a hard time digesting a catalog that would span a most regular band’s career. However, Parquet Courts, is not an average band and their new album, Wide Awake!, is a stark […]

Chris Glover, who performs under the name Penguin Prison, has been making music in New York City for over a decade now. While Chris has kept a steady stream of infectious electro-pop hits flowing throughout the years, his latest EP, Turn It Up, signals an epoch for the native New Yorker. Hard-hitting dance beats light […]

Cut Copy is currently on tour in support of their latest album, Haiku From Zero (REVIEW). The Aussie dance maestros have been electrifying audiences since their inception in 2001, and their effectiveness in delivering on the live stage has made their shows a must-see event. We recently sat down with Dan Whitford and Benjamin Browning backstage […]

Ending a three-year touring hiatus and touting a new album of songs, Cut Copy arrived back in Austin on March 30 to a rabid fan base that craved a liberating dance experience. Having been to Stubb’s BBQ for close to 100 different live music shows, I can confidently say that this past Friday was the […]

Broken Social Scene returned to Austin on Friday, March 23 for a comprehensive performance at Stubb’s BBQ that did not disappoint longtime fans. The Canadian music collective, formed in 1999, has a revolving door of touring members that number as few as 6 and as many as 19 at various times. Eclectic vocal arrangements, bombastic […]

With the SXSW festival looming over Austin and a near infinite amount of bands and events taking place Friday, March 9, the hottest event ended up being a high-energy electronic dance show put on by Swedish pop quartet Little Dragon. An opening set by DJ Aaron Byrd primed the massive audience for the virulent dance […]

[rating=8.00] There is no other musician in the public conscious quite like Andrew W.K. The Michigan-raised rocker claims titles like motivational speaker, club owner, radio personality, and music producer. Many remember W.K. for his controversial album cover for I Get Wet, which features a bloody-nosed, greasy, and intense Andrew staring maniacally. However it’s the energy […]

[rating=7.00] MGMT continues the inside joke of their satirical songwriting on their latest album,Little Dark Age, with a tip of the hat to convention. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden wrote their mega-pop hits “Kids”, “Time to Pretend”, and “Electric Feel” as tongue in cheek, but the songs ended up changing the pop music landscape and both […]

[rating=8.00] Tethered to their punk mother culture, No Age continues to experiment with various aesthetics, auras, and sounds. The duo, consisting of Dean Spunt and Randy Randall, is coming up on a decade since their debut, but their protean style keeps things fresh with their fifth effort, Snares Like A Haircut.  Unafraid to go from […]