Xiu Xiu are what many would call a success story. After all, they’ve evolved from an experimental freakshow of a duo who appealed only to the outer edge of musical snobs and depressed hipsters, to a full-on, four member, MySpace friendly, blog-writing, book-producing, ceaselessly collaborating, networking whirlwind with legions of fans and the respect of critics. Not only that, but unlike some rise-to-glory stories, Xiu Xiu’s transformation has been nice to see, mostly because founding members Jamie Stewart and Caralee McElroy always seem to be having a lot of fun, connecting well with their fans and managing to maintain their sense of humor and their honesty....

Like an uncomfortably morbid Renaissance Faire, the debut album from Orion Rigel Dommisse is a bit of ancient escapism mixed in with near-constant themes of death and disintegration. Altogether, it amounts to a captivating but unsettling tour of a freak-folk take on mortality. To prove this isn’t an exaggeration, see a few of the song titles: “Fake Yer Death,” “A Faceless Death,” “Suicide Kiss (Because Dead),” and, ending the album on an unsurprising note, “Drink......

Okkervil River's long-suffered plan to perform with a string and horns section came to fruition on Saturday night at Hogg Auditorium. The band performed songs from their upcoming album (due sometime this year) as well as familiar favorites such as "A King and a Queen" and "So Come Back, I Am Waiting", and even surprised the audience with a cover of The Fugs' 1966 waltz-like song about hunger pains and knowledge, "I Want to......

The South by Southwest Film Festival recently released their complete lineup of this year's short films. All told, 130 - ranging from documentary and experimental to narrative shorts - are to be shown from March 10-18. We've gone through and selected a few that caught our attention (based solely on their descriptions): ANIMATED SHORTS A Painful Glimpse into my Writing Process (In Less than 60 Seconds) Dir: Chel White A darkly satirical tour de......

[mp3] The Hold Steady - "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" [mp3] The Hold Steady - "The Swish" [link] The Plastic Constellations - "Iron City Jungles" [mp3] Baby Dee - "Endless Night" [mp3] Baby Dee - "Love's Small Song" [mp3] Baby Dee - "Lilacs" [mp3] Shearwater - "I Can't Wait" [mp3] Shearwater - "Whipping Boy" [full EP] Weird Weeds - "This Is Not What You Want (EP)" [mov] Nina Simone - "I Want A Little Sugar In......

Singer-songwriter Glen Phillips first burst onto the music scene in the 90's as the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, a group of four guys from the laid-back, sun-drenched California beachside town of Santa Barbara. Remember "All I Want" or "Come Down"? After Toad broke up in 1998, Phillips went on to a fairly promising solo career, releasing in 2001 the highly acclaimed Abulum. This album was largely a reminiscence of days long......