Gary Louris and Mark Olson, Ready for the Flood (New West) If we can’t have a Jayhawks reunion the renewed friendship of Gary Louris and Mark Olson currently touring in support of their new album. Its no surprise that the two masters could put together a rock solid effort though much was riding on the two [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

March madness is upon us once again. Not the kind that involves a hoop and a ball, I’m talking about the Austin version of madness that is SXSW. Every year in the middle of March tens of thousands of musicians and fans settle upon the Longhorn town to celebrate the best of American music festivals. [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

This is our second year aggregate of our year-end best album lists representing another great year in music. This year we’ve broadened the list to include our Reader’s Picks and Bobby K’s annual picks. Scoring was based on 10 points for a #1 pick working its way down to 1 point for a #10 pick. [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Selected favorites from some of my favorite albums of the year. Also, some superlatives: Best Alternative Album: THE HOLD STEADY, Stay Positive (Vagrant) Best Alt-Country Album: OLD 97S, Blame It On Gravity (New West) Best Emerging Artist: GLOSSARY, The Better Angels of Our Nature (Undertow) Best Country Album: RECKLESS KELLY, Bulletproof (Yep Roc) Best R&B/Soul Album: ELI “PAPERBOY” REED, Roll With [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

These are my favorite albums of 2008. As always, these only reflect music that I was able to afford or otherwise get my grubby hands on. Regretfully, the lastest from Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Marc Broussard, Ray Lamontagne, Amos Lee, and Butch Walker among dozens of others kept a distance. #1. THE HOLD STEADY, Stay [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Its that time of year again where we start to see “the lists” start appearing regarding everyone’s favorite this and that from the course of the year. We here at the Twangville will have some lists of our own starting to appear over the coming days and weeks. We thought we’d kick it off with [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Its that time of year again where we here in the States celebrate a holiday we may never fully understand or at least we won’t comprehend it to the extent that the Plymouth Plantation habitants did. I usually celebrate Thanksgiving with an early morning Turkey Trot, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the telly which [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

It’s not often that my day job and Twangville collide. But when it does I can’t help but get a little giddy. Martin Sexton recently asked for a little help regarding social media so our talented marketing and design teams helped to set him up on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, iLike and Flickr including some updates [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Joseph Arthur playing “Temporary People” from his SXSW performance at Red Fez on March 15th, 2008. JOSEPH ARTHUR & THE ASTRONAUTS, Temporary People (Lonely Astronauts) Official Site | MySpace | Samples (Amazon) Joseph Arthur has been dropping EPs all year long and now we have a full length to chew on. As if the video above [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Old Crow playing an upbeat version of Caroline at Merlefest. OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW, Tennessee Pusher (Nettwerk) Official Site | MySpace | Samples (imeem) Known for their live shows and throwback sound, Nashville’s Old Crow Medicine Show delivers their third album on Nettwerk Records. If Bob Dylan were ever holed up deep in the hills [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Marc Broussard performs “Real Good Thing” live at Paste Studios. MARC BROUSSARD, Keep Coming Back (Atlantic) Official Site | MySpace | Preview (AOL Music) I’m positively giddy about this new set of original tunes from Carencro, Lousiana’s Marc Broussard. Its his debut album on Atlantic records and is sure to continue to raise his neo-soul profile [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

From “Carried To Dust” - out on Quarterstick Records (9/09/08). CALEXICO, Carried To Dust (Touch & Go) Official Site | MySpace | Samples (Amazon) One of the best blends of Mexican and Texas/Arizona soundscapes you’ll hear, Calexico is back. This is classic convertible Ford Mustang driving through the desert music. Picture giant cacti zooming by [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Bruce Robison performing “She Don’t Care” at Scholz Beer Garte, Austin 8-13-08 BRUCE ROBISON, The New World (Premium) Official Site | MySpace | Samples (Amazon) The most disappointing thing about this album is that there are only ten tracks. This is perhaps a countrier version of something Peter Case would put together which makes it top [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Acoustic version of “Byrdgirl”; the first single from Matthew’s new album “Sunshine Lies” available August 26th, 2008. MATTHEW SWEET, Sunshine Lies (Shout! Factory) Official Site | MySpace Long awaited, long anticipated return to grace from one of the most gifted singer/songwriters from the 90s. Its hard not to look at this album with high expectations but [...] more »

by Tom Osborne

Donavon Frankenreiter, “Life, Love & Laughter” DONAVON FRANKENREITER, Pass It Around (Lost Highway) Official Site | MySpace | Samples (Amazon) What can I say? I’m a sucker for jangly surf rock. The Laguna Beach musician recruits Ben Harper (”Pass It Around”), G. Love (”Sing a Song”) and Grant Lee Phillips (”Mansions in the Sand”) among others [...] more »

by Tom Osborne