You can’t please everybody, but you can sure try sometimes. That happens to be something that the U.K.-based band British Sea Power realized going into their fifth full-length album, Valhalla Dancehall, last year.
Welsh-born pop songstress Marina Diamandis, in her vintage letter jackets and vibrant skirts, would probably look right at home among the pages of a pop art comic book.
Turntablism, the manipulation of sounds through turntables and a DJ mixer, has never been a glorified role within the rap scene. DJs are often required to put in a tremendous amount of work centered around the goals of the artist for whom they spin. Even if given ample room for creativity, it’s rarer for DJs to suggest verses to rappers than for rappers to make suggestions to DJs.
It’s a crisp, clear day and lead singer and guitarist Ryan Lentell is holding a 24 oz. of Budweiser and chain-smoking cheap Pall Malls as he talks about how he thinks the psych-rock scene in Austin has become a trend — not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. After all, Shells has gotten the psych-rock comparison before, though much of Shells’ sound can’t be attributed to one genre.
Despite the Austin music scene’s illustrious history, it has been harboring fundamental flaws that stand to compromise the interests of the artists involved, the core of its reputation, and what it stands for.
Adele represents something truly unique within the realm of female singer-songwriters. Her vocal ability is unparalleled and the staying power of the music she creates is unmatched. For every album of hers that rests in its place within contemporary music history, many more Katy Perry and Lily Allen albums will fall by the wayside and into the depths with their disposable companions.
Four years after the release of the critically acclaimed In Rainbows, Radiohead abruptly released The King of Limbs on Friday after announcing the album’s release only days before.
The Stars last came to Austin more than two years ago at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Since then the band has recorded a fifth album, The Five Ghosts, which was released over the summer.