The Polyphonic Spree

The Biggest Surprises From the Texas 30 Ballots

Perusing the final ballots for the Texas 30 with a few highlighters this past week was a blessed odyssey into the past three decades of all things Texas music. For as many no-brainers as there were, there were plenty of head-scratchin' exclusions. Rewind: The 30 Best Texas Albums (cover story) Sl ... More >>

Quiet Company

Murder By Death

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 5 Restaurant Playlists

The only times I notice the music in a restaurant is when it's really bad (Christmas music playing year round at Sichuan Cuisine), really out of place (Nine Inch Nails blaring out of the speakers at now-closed Tony Vallone joint Ciao Bello or Cannibal Corpse washing over the line of patrons at Amy's ... More >>

Last Night: The Polyphonic Spree at Fitzgerald's

Photos by Jim Bricker​The Polyphonic Spree Fitzgerald's February 14, 2012 Some of rock's most intriguing acts have risen from the ashes of their former bands. Such is the case with Dallas-based multi-member psych-pop band The Polyphonic Spree; front man Tim DeLaughter formerly fronted '90s al ... More >>

Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter Drops The Ultimate AM Gold Playlist

If you have been missing Dallas's Polyphonic Spree, then 2012 could be your year. With new music in the offing -- including a Christmas record due in the fall -- the 21-member-strong Spree is gearing up to bring smiles to audiences again. Leaders Tim DeLaughter and Julie Doyle formed the band near ... More >>

Polyphonic Spree

Distant Early Warning: Delta Spirit, Cursive, George Clinton, Hot Chelle Rae, Orgy, Youth Lagoon

American Sharks: Sat., Feb. 25. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. The Black Belles, Black Tabs: Sun., March 18. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Houston. Bobby Bare Jr.: Wed., Feb. 1. Continental Club, 3700 Main, Houston. Buxton, Marmalakes, Featherface: Sat., Feb. 4, 8 p.m., $8.00. Fitzgera ... More >>

AgesandAges: A Tale of Portland and Pearl Harbor

​As the year comes to its close and we welcome the cool temperatures and the grey skies, definitely our favorite weather, we turn to the Pacific Northwest and the band AgesandAges. Mick Cullen of Subterranean Radio, our dealer in all excellent and underground, passed along the music video for ... More >>

Alien Force

Man or Astro-Man? discuss their time on Earth.

Cheerleader

St. Vincent's Annie Clark went "off the grid" to craft new album Strange Mercy.

Electric Six: Love Songs for Mentally Disturbed People

​If Barry White did a record with Al Jourgensen it might sound something like Heartbeats and Brainwaves, the eighth studio album from Electric Six. This is the first time we've come into contact with the band, having only been aware of them vaguely from their song "Gay Bar" and the fact that ... More >>

Last Night: Twilight Singers At Warehouse Live

Photos by Jason Wolter​Twilight Singers Warehouse Live Studio June 1, 2011 The Afghan Whigs are probably one of the most underrated acts to come from the grunge period, but they had all the best lines, a dynamic musical presence, plus one of the most delightfully rusty and eloquent voices in ... More >>

Portuguese Men of War

The Walkmen jump-start their momentum on Lisbon.

The Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp From Hell

Rocks Off recently got invited to cover something known as Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp, which works a lot like baseball fantasy camp, except none of the participants can field a line-drive grounder. Among the idols rock campers will meet include 3 Doors Down, Mark Farner, the drummer from the Hooters a ... More >>

Saturday Night: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes at Warehouse Live

Photos by Groovehouse​Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes Warehouse Live October 9, 2010 Oh crap, Aftermath thought shortly after Edward Sharpe struck up the Magnetic Zeroes Saturday night, it's the Polyphonic Spree all over again. Unless we are having an especially bad day, Aftermath is no ... More >>

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Aftermath: Har Mar Superstar, My Jerusalem and the TMI Brigade at Super Happy Fun Land

Photos by Brittanie SheyGive them drugs so they'll shut up (please): Har Mar openers My Jerusalem​ Rocks Off pulled into the parking lot of Super Happy Fun Land fashionably late Saturday night just in time to see Sean Tillmann (a.k.a. Har Mar Superstar, clad in street clothes instead of his usual ... More >>

A Musical Guide to Post-Secession Texas, Part 2: "Trinity"

[Note: This week Rocks Off is looking at the musical heritage, highs and lows, for each of the five possible states that might result should Texas secede from the U.S. like Gov. Rick Perry wants it to. Yesterday we began with the Panhandle/West Texas "Palo Duro" territory; today it's northeastern qu ... More >>

Colourmusic

Houston's Ten Worst Songs

…and we're still not as bad as Dallas

Last Night: Dan Deacon at Walter's on Washington

Memories of ACLs Past: The Halliburton Shirt

Win Butler with the Swish!!

Polyphonic Spree

Polyphonic Spree performs Monday, June 25, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-225-5483.

The M Word

Musical terms that should be illegal

Architecture in Helsinki

Wednesday, September 20, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-225-5483

Cave In, with Doomriders and Lorene Drive

Friday, December 16, at Walter's on Washington, 4215 Washington Avenue, 713-864-2727.

Anti-Rock

LCD Soundsystem's brain trust happily loses his edge

The Opposite of Suck

Mike Mills's debut is smart, funny and gorgeously sad

Sufjan Stevens

Illinoise

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the year's top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the year's top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote

Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum

Christmas is the weirdest time of the year. Who better to musically document the season than John Waters?

Adieu, Monsieur Mojo

...And other SXSW adventures

Broken Social Scene

Saturday, March 20

Wisdom of Solomon

A street preacher helps crack the meaning of the Sleepy Jackson's Lovers

Drat!

Racket proposes a rock radio revolution. Clear Channel beats him to the punch.

Battle Cries

SXSW finds itself covered in thoughts of war

Cultural Clash

SXSW turns a cold shoulder to the Houston music scene

Playbill

Chomsky