Posts by Lee Ackerley

As a native Houstonian, it is a strange feeling to have an event in our city considered the paradigm of ‘cool’. Sure, Houston has incredible museums, an expansive ethnic food offering, and is home to the largest rodeo and renaissance festival in the nation –but it is the nascent Day For Night festival that causes […]

A Metz appearance in Austin is like Christmas come early for dissonant rock enthusiasts in town, of which there are many. An army of black-clad testosteroned adolescents, long-haired metal vets, and discerning bespectacled hipsters all gathered at the Mohawk on Friday, December 15 to bask in the pulsating greatness of Metz. Disappointment has never been […]

Jamil Rashad AKA Boulevards has two releases to his credit, including last year’s dance-laden breakout album, Groove!. Riding a wave of momentum, Boulevards has made a quick return with the recently released Hurt Town, a high-energy, funkadelic album that features Neon Indian, Laura Reed, and more. Hurt Town evokes the sexualized R&B sounds of Prince, Rick James, […]

Alicia Bognanno, lead singer of Bully, is a manifestation of the spirit of 90’s grunge rock personified in a youthful and determined frontwoman. The voice of Courtney Love, the appeal of Cobain, and the studio proficiency of Steve Albini all seem to coalesce into Bognanno as a contemporary tour de force. Bully was on full […]

Flying Lotus brought his otherworldly canvas of electronic sounds to Emo’s in Austin, Texas for a show on Halloween night.

Ripping and bashing through a sixteen song set that ignited a sweaty punk party, Wavves had made their way to Austin once again, this time laying waste to Emo’s on a Wednesday, October 25th. The SoCal four-piece is a paradox, comprised of the slovenly aesthetic of a hopeless noise garage band, mixed with the military-like […]

An intimate venue carved into of Austin’s downtown 5th street, Antone’s Home of the Blues now hosts a variety of music. On Sunday, October 22nd, Australian indie pop band Atlas Genius played the historic venue in front of a handful of loyal fans. Jangled dance pop is the band’s signature sound, and a slew of […]

Joshua Tillman is the ‘hipster messiah’ who brings his eclectic indie folk to sold out shows around the world. Under the moniker Father John Misty Joshua has become a master of writing portentous songs that mix comedy, truth, and the mundane. For a musician that has been recording and gigging for nearly twenty years, with […]

[rating=8.00] Protomartyr is a band anyone with a rock and roll backbone anyone can get behind. Formed by middle-aged music fans stewing in the ennui of working class Detroit, Protomartyr doesn’t hint towards being contrived or manicured to any degree. Rolling into their fourth album release, Relatives In Descent, the trademark Motor City grittiness can […]

[rating=7.00] Our dark sorceress of winter has returned with her fifth official album, Hiss Spun. Chelsea Wolfe is a truly unique purveyor of gothic imagery and soul-baring songwriting that simultaneously rings the bell of impending doom. Hiss Spun was recorded in a studio in Salem, Massachusetts, where all that surrounded Chelsea was an ominous forest […]

At a time when hurricanes are rapid-firing across the continent, nuclear war feels closer than ever before, and the news cycle spews a constant stream of vitriol, comic relief is a necessity to keep us sane. Tenacious D played Stubb’s on Wednesday night to a sold-out crowd that seemed to be clamoring to laugh together and blow off […]

[rating=9.00] It’s hard to believe that Strange Peace is only the third full-length record from the Canadian trio known as Metz. These noise rockers have been playing together since 2008 and have a live show that seemingly opens the space and time continuum with its intensity. Getting in the studio with legendary engineer Steve Albini […]

[rating=8.00] Consistent musical quality and perpetual growth are the calling cards of the Australian electro dance wizard, Dan Whitford, of Cut Copy. Sailing into his fifth full-length album, Haiku From Zero, since forming the dance-centric quartet in 2001 – the obvious is revealed to show Whitford indisputably touts the Midas touch. Haiku From Zero deftly […]

Ben Folds emanates a magnetic nerd-rock charisma that allows himself to orchestrate audiences with the same dexterity that his fingers have upon his piano keys. A Sunday night at Stubb’s in Austin saw Ben Folds curate a festive and sing-a-long type of atmosphere for his legions of followers. While Folds experienced his meteoric rise into […]

[rating=8.00] Ariel Pink, like his music, is a curious swirl of fantasy, existentialism, and abounding magnetism. Dedicated to Bobby Jameson is Pink’s first solo album since 2014’s pom pom, and his trademark lo-fi sound, while present on the album, continues to get stretched and reinvented throughout. The 13-track effort’s title is an ode to a […]

[rating=7.00] The echoes of the mid-2000’s indie rock are boomeranging back in the full force and Philadelphia-based quartet, The Districts, aren’t shy about purveying it. On their third full-length album, Popular Manipulations, these earnest Pennsylvanians tunnel deep into emotionally fraught songwriting with eclectic influences from artists who are familiar to anyone who has been listening […]

There are nights when you realize that the universe has aligned an event in such a way that it would be a fallacy to miss out on. When two beloved local bands, Night Drive and Ghostland Observatory, can be found playing together on a Friday night – the pangs of FOMO for anybody living in […]

Any music fan from the 90’s will understand that Butch Vig needs little to no introduction. As the drummer and co-producer of Garbage and the producer of Nirvana’s historic Nevermind, Vig has laid his musical blueprint and then some. But as many a good musical mind, Vig is honing in on the present to showcase original material […]

Float Fest is a bold endeavor that has paid off once again. Bringing thousands of music-loving Texans to the Cool River Ranch in San Marcos, in the middle of a scorching deadbeat summer, has liability written all over it. However, the festival founder, Marcus Federman, along with his crack team pulled off another spectacular festival […]

[rating=7.00] It’s ironic how a collection of castoffs and orphaned gems can blend into a masterpiece that almost proves more profound than the artist’s previous six records. Beach House, the bittersweet noir-electro duo from Baltimore, is coming off the well-received 2015 releases of Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars, but you don’t have to […]