If you missed ...Trail of Dead at Fun Fun Fun Fest, you can get your fix over at RCRD LBL today, where they're sharing an exclusive download of the new album's first single, "Bells of Creation."...

Jason Reece and Conrad Keely formed And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead as a duo in the mid-‘90s after moving to Austin from Olympia, Washington. Kevin Allen and Neil Busch joined soon after, but the band has undergone a few line-up tweaks since those early days. …Trail of Dead’s self-titled debut and Madonna were landmarks in the Austin music scene towards the end of the century; their rousing live shows were apocalyptic and exhilarating where no instrument or organism was spared if it interfered with the belligerent performance. The band has churned out one inventive record after another, sifting through noisy dream-rock, thunderous post-punk, and intricate chamber-pop during an illustrious even if sometimes underrated career. But there is little doubt in our mind that …Trail of Dead is one of the most influential and relevant bands to come out of our city despite often taking a backseat to the likes of Spoon, Ghostland Observatory, and more recently, White Denim. Although their live performances are not as intense as they used to be, there is no denying their talent and their penchant to deliver melodious rock ‘n’ roll mayhem at the drop of a dime. We caught up with Reece recently to quiz him on the state of the band and the city of Austin....

Preview Okkervil River's new album, The Stand Ins, at their MySpace, where you can listen to "Lost Coastlines." ...

Friday night's Glorium reunion show marks the final pinnacle of Emo's 15th anniversary celebration. Glorium are one of the vital pages in Austin's long musical history. The band originally formed in San Antonio in 1991 and immediately began to make a name for themselves by using avant-garde aesthetics with lessons learned from the hardcore punk scene. The result was an explosion of emotional and musical creativity; pushing the boundaries of lyrical imagery and human......

The Narrator All That to the Wall (Flameshovel) The Chicago group’s interlocking skeletal structures of stark clean guitars and bouncy, thick elastic rhythms might remind one of Foolish era Superchunk or …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at their most mild. However, it is the vocal arrangements on the album that are the most interesting. The hooks are like dissonant harmonic cries for help so catchy they urge you to sing......

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead So Divided Self-indulgence has always been central to the Trail of Dead's MO. Early albums whooshed by in a maelstrom of guitar noise, complex time changes, and punk-derived sneering. Who would bother constructing such intricate cacophony—or naming themselves a ten-word quote from a Mayan war chant— without a definitive musical axe to grind? Co-bandleaders Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, working-class kids with poetic inclinations, wrote......

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead has been supplying inventive rock music and raucous live performances for over a decade now. What started out as a two man entertainment outfit headed by Conrad Keely and Jason Reece has grown over the years into a five-piece, dual-drums-pronged machine that abides no discernible formula when it comes to expansive rock. In 2003, the band found its mature side, employing the Tosca String......

In less than a year, Austin's Brothers and Sisters have established themselves as true thoroughbreds among the new stable of American indie/country bands. Their show tonight at Emo's marks the kick off of a national tour with fellow Texas luminaries Trail Of Dead and post-hardcore champs The Blood Brothers. Described by some as a "soft, warm family quilt," Bros & Sis' music is a patchwork of musical genres spanning the hard, bluesy psych-rock of......

“This is the closest I’ll ever get to him,” remarked a fan as Frank Black waded his way through a gathering of collected faithful at Waterloo Records this rain hit Austin afternoon. The magic of in-store performances in the capitol has been evoked regularly by the city’s most visible record store, whether it be local icons like ..And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead or SxSW week imports like Doves. And,......

After SXSW trashes our fair town, Coachella layers the California desert with dusty beer cans, and Wall of Sound leaves Fort Worth a city ... well, much the same, we're probably heading over to Sasquatch, the annual Pacific Northwest festival at Washingon State's scenic Gorge Amphitheatre. Scheduled to perform during the three-day Memorial Weekend blitz are Austinites Trail of Dead and Iron & Wine, plus a salivatory stew of sweet, sweet bands: FRIDAY, MAY 26......

We're duly impressed by the responses we received for this week's Reader Reviews - keep 'em coming! From Cole Wimpee: Local Bluesman virtuoso, Scott H. (for 'Hiram') Biram, is briefly back in Austin after a supposed stint in Costa Rica and before the launching of a tour across the nation in September and seizing on the opportunity to see him in the interim, I checked out the midnight-monday-morning show at Beerland yesterday... Biram is......

The post-SXSW music lull keeps our list of recommended night time activities a bit sparse, but with a CD release party that's sure to turn into dance mayhem, a local rock showcase of talented men in bear suits, and a show by a band who sings about shipping routes in the 1700's, we think you'll find something to do. As usual, if there's a show you think is notable that we've forgotten, drop it in......