my new favorite band

My musical ventures generally drift towards the outer Houston area, but now and again I fall in love with a project born and bred in my own backyard. I've certainly touted Houston/La Porte alt-country(?) group Buxton quite a bit here on BOT, so when any side project of the group I love so dear and near pops up, I'm immediately attracted. Recently, I was at the mink hamming it up with Sergio Trevino and Haley Barnes from Buxton, and they were on and on about their newest collaboration dawned the Ancient Cat Society. They couldn't stopped joking about what could be from the duo, including new wave and punk rock, but decided they'd be best off sticking with the folk theme. They've now sprouted into a legit act, augmented by the multi-talented Austin Sepulvado, and have a quality video (multi-angled at that!) to prove it. I can't get enough of this trio, and hope to eventually catch them live as soon as possible. It's a new, simpler take on Sergio's lyricism, with Haley shining as vocalist – this project allowing her vocals to stand out rather than support as her role in Buxton showcases. Check out the video of the trio performing their tune "Mary Frances" at Rudyard's last week...

Haley, you still owe me that dance!

As the fall festival season quickly approaches with ACL, Voodoo and Fun Fun Fun Fest right around the corner, I am busy searching over the schedules for bands I need to see that I don't really know much about. ACL is overall pretty familiar for me (I already found my last New Favorite Band on that line-up), but there are many bands that are gracing the stages at New Orleans' Voodoo Experience over Halloween weekend that I haven't spent much or any time with. One group that stood out immediately just because of their name was Die Antwoord, but it was there album, $O$, that made them a must see on Halloween weekend. After searching YouTube, I found some intriguing vids that made my need to see the South African hip-hop group grow even more. The best one by far comes from music video blog TaxiJam, which has the group flowing through their tune "Wat Kyk Jy?" complete with mooning and shirtless, sunglassed gentleman taking it all in in the back seat. Love this video...

They'll be playing at 6:15 in between Boyz Noize and The Crystal Method at Voodoo in what they're calling Le Plur, which is a new addition to the festival and seems to be some sort of dance stage/tent. See you there?

This is music for lovers. This is music that is inspired by some of the 70's and 80's greats like Hall & Oats and Bruce Hornsby. This is what happens when you gather a group of today's finest indie rock musicians and they do something completely out of the box. This is porn music.

The only reason I truly know about Gayngs is that they are on the Austin City Limits line-up, and that Bon Iver's Justin Vernon plays a big part in their foundation. I haven't had the chance to listen to much of their music, but I'm hoping they blow me away when it becomes festival time. I've been a huge fan of Bon Iver and Megafaun for quite some time, back to the days of their project together DeYarmond Edison, so when I learned that they were once again collaborating on a completely different type of music with 20 or so other musicians including Rhymesavers' P.O.S. and members of the Rosebuds, I was instantly sold. The video that accompanies my post put a stamp on it and mailed it off. I would've never expected anything Justin Vernon would do to sound so slinky and sultry, and I'm glad that it was an utter surprise upon first listen. They are my new discovery, and my current obsession – one that won't be upstaged for quite some time. I know I will never truly appreciate such an act until I see them in some dank club with four 60 watt light bulbs illuminating the entire room, but the ACL performance, YouTube vids and their debut album Relayted will have to suffice until I get the chance.

This is some of the sexiest music I've heard in my life. Seriously. Anytime Justin Vernon rocks the auto-tune, I simply melt – that doesn't make me gay does it? I can't freaking wait to see them at ACL!

Over the course of my three days at SXSW, I had the opportunity to discover a wealth of new talent that I was unaware of going into it. At the top of that pack was LA-based indie rock group Local Natives. They were so good in the live format that I immediately went and picked up a copy of their 2009 debut, Gorilla Manor. The group takes the many good things that bands like The Talking Heads were doing in the eighties, and revamp it to go along with the ever-popular indie-rock sounds of today. They use a lot of percussion, which, as a drummer, is always alright with me. Their melodies are straight-up infectious, and have me coming back to GM on a daily basis. I highly recommend procuring their album, soon.

The group brought their songs to KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic radio program recently, and also shared a few words with host Jason Bentley. Check it out...

Local Natives are making their way to Houston in just a few weeks when they hit the stage at Mango's in Montrose on April 24th. The show should be pretty damn busy, so I'd highly suggest getting your tickets before hand at Cactus Music or Sound Exchange.

I've been listening to LA's Everest for some time now – their excellent debut album Ghost Notes appeared at #12 on my top albums of 2008 list, and "Reloader" was included on my top songs of 2008 post – but it wasn't until recently that I realized just how infatuated I am with this band. Their sound is an ear-friendly blend of Americana and indie rock that lends itself well to a variety of occasions. It's lively enough to throw on while entertaining guests, but also soothing enough to make for great bedtime music. I haven't yet had the opportunity to see these guys live, but after watching a few videos of them on stage, I'm convinced that they would exceed my expectations. I hope they make a stop in my area sometime soon...and if they come through Houston, I'd love to see local Americana/folk craftsmen Buxton open for them – that would be a heavenly pairing indeed.

More Everest videos, info and tour dates after the jump

Several things happened when I first glimpsed this year's initial line-up for Bonnaroo. My initial reaction awe of the stacked headliners in Phish, Bruce, Nails and the Beasties. As I began examining the mid-level bands, I grew increasingly excited as I noted a slew of my favorite acts. Finally, after digesting the rest of the line-up I started to pick through the bands that I hadn't heard yet. After finding a few groups that intrigued me (Midnite, A.A. Bondy), I came upon the final name on the bill. New York-based group Alberta Cross have a sound deeply rooted in folk, but also share some of the same rock tinges as their heavyweight counterparts Kings of Leon and The Raconteurs. Singer Petter Erickson Stakee highlights the group's sound with a vocal that reminds me a whole lot of Crazy Horse-era Neil Young. I am excited about catching Alberta Cross live a couple times in the coming months; first, when they support Airborne Toxic Event at Houston's Meridian in March, and a few months later at the aforementioned festival which initially sparked my interest in this band.

Find out more about Alberta Cross after the jump

As you might have noticed, line-ups have been springing up all over the place for some of our favorite summertime events. While we're all still waiting for many of the bigger festivals to announce their lists of bands, I've been dissecting the smaller line-ups in search of new talent to check out. Several new bands have sparked my interest, but the first band I've found that truly excites me comes in form of Michigan-based electro-funk outfit My Dear Disco. They build upon what bands like Lotus and Particle have been doing for the past few years, then layer it with the sultry vocals of lead singer Michelle Chamuel (and sometimes a touch of bagpipe!). It's a very unique combination of sounds that is incomparable to anything else going today. Check out a video for their tune "White Lies" performed live at last year's American Eagle/Anthony Kiedis-backed New American Music Union festival.

Check out some more My Dear Disco videos after the jump

Every year after reading through year-end best-of list after year-end best-of list, I always find at least one band that never made it through my speakers throughout the course of the year. While there are a few different choices that fit this category this time around, one band stands above the rest after a comprehensive viewing of these lists. Vetiver came highly recommended by many different music websites and blogs, so I picked up a copy of their 2008 album Thing of the Past and immediately enjoyed its infectious brand of folk-pop. After some more research on the interweb, and falling in love with the following viral goodness, I couldn't help but throw myself in to their "Vetiverse."

Vetiver - "Been So Long"

Stream a few tunes from Thing of the Past, and check out details about Vetiver's upcoming Sub Pop release, Tight Knit, after the jump