Good lord, is it that time already? 2009 still has many miles to go, but already spring in Texas seems just around the corner. SXSW, that ginormous music-biz orgy from which buzz can come rumbling like rolling thunder, has announced its first slate of...

Barcelona's Primavera Sound Festival has, in its decade of existence, established itself as one of the most impressive music fests on the European calendar. Of course, being in Barcelona, in May, makes it a favored 'destination' festival for...

Name: Brilliant Colors From: San Francisco, California Story: Slumberland Records' latest signing Sound: Twee revival, ho! Cosmic coincidence: the title of Brilliant Colors' debut album is Introducing, and its front-cover is type set in the...

The Year: 1969 The Album: Alexander 'Skip' Spence, Oar Who It Influenced: Beck, Wilco, Tom Waits, Giant Sand, Cat Power, Sandro Perri This year, Scientologist song-and-dance-man Beck started up an online 'Record Club,' in which he and his pals...

Xiu Xiu, the long-running art-noise confessional vehicle of Oakland's Jamie Stewart, will release their ninth album on February 23, via Kill Rock Stars. Having already named albums Knife Play, Fag Patrol, and Women as Lovers, Stewart keeps things...