Austin guitarist Matt Smith is a true American soul – because he’s all over the place.

Released a decade ago this week, ‘True Love Cast Out All Evil’ stands as Roky Erickson’s last heartfelt invitation back to a career often ofter looked.

Make no mistake, Austin *does* have an avant-jazz/improv music scene that’s just not as well known outside of town. With more records like ‘Tau Ceti’ from Lisa Cameron, Tom Carter and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, that should all change.

Proclaiming Brownout to be a funk powerhouse seems like hyperbole – until you listen to their new album, ‘Berlin Sessions.’

Somewhere today, a SXSW hipster is going to proclaim the Stone Foxes — this band, right here — the best damn thing happening in Austin right now.

Spartan but sturdy arrangements, capped with hummable choruses and spiky breaks.

‘On Time’ is an album that stirs up those same old feeling we’d used to get when listening to an old Temptations or Spinners song on the radio.

Left to her own devices after a band breakup, Austin-based singer-songwriter Amy Edwards found herself stuck between her melancholy over what had been and her hopefulness for what might come next. Ghosts and Saints, at times hard-eyed and at others remarkably open, is stronger for that essential dichotomy. She purrsRead More

This was a fun surf instrumental album from Get Hip, containing all of the Sir Finks’ material as recorded for the Wildebeest label. You May Also Like: Australian Crawl – ‘Sirocco’ (1981): Forgotten Series The Undertones – True Confessions: Singles = A’s + B’s (1999): Forgotten Series

Next year could bring a U.S. tour for Julian Lennon, keyed to a just-announced appearance at South by Southwest in Austin. Talks are apparently on-going. You May Also Like: Final memory with John Lennon led Julian to Steven Tyler: ‘He is a very insightful man’ How Julian Lennon Faced ItRead More