Music

Honus Honus gave simple instructions: “I have a moustache. You’ll find me.”

After recording under the name Smog for nearly two decades, lo-fi singer/songwriter Bill Callahan surprised, if not shocked, fans by announcing that he was dropping the familiar moniker in favor of his own name. On his twelfth album, Woke on a Whaleheart (Drag City), Callahan infuses folk, country, and gospel sensibilities into one of his best efforts to date.

It is early afternoon at the Flamingo Cantina in Austin, and already the temperature inside is reaching steambath proportions. On stage, The Pipettes are visibly feeling the heat – Riot Becki’s glasses won’t stop sliding down her nose, and The Cassettes (the all-male backing quartet) appear to be regretting their wardrobe choice (yellow wool sweater vests atop long-sleeved dress shirts).

Taking the best elements from rock, pop, electronica, and anything else you’ve ever heard with melody and a sense of schizophrenia, The Matches are at the forefront of a unique sound that most thought was impossible during this stagnant era of musical creation.

The third album from Tomahawk – the super-group featuring vocalist Mike Patton (Fantômas, Mr. Bungle, Faith No More), guitarist Duane Denison (U.S.S.A., The Jesus Lizard), and drummer John Stanier (Battles, Helmet) – gives apt reference to its name and its creators.

Chicago’s own Russian Circles, whose melodic yet crushing brand of instrumental rock has drawn praise from many sources, will finally have their 2006 album Enter released in the United Kingdom. And to celebrate that release, the quickly ascending group will be performing twice in London and once in Manchester in late August with high-profile prog rockers Tool.

After receiving the majority of more than 50,000 fan votes, Bombay Doors has won Sabian‘s inaugural Dream Spot Contest and subsequently a spot on the Vans Warped Tour.

Save your puns about corporate mergers, but Big Business has latched onto a dozen Tool tour dates as openers for one of the most mainstream progressive rock acts in the United States. Now, if only working for the man could as fun as seeing both in action…

No power? No problem! That was the case Thursday night at James Park in Evanston, Illinois for Hackensaw Boys, a six-piece outfit responsible for sonic concoctions of blistering bluegrass and active Americana.

Though Yakuza‘s last album, Samsara, was released just last March, the progressive noise metal veterans have already completed a new full-length disc titled Transmutations. What more could fans with short attention spans desire?