Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
RIP Ozzy: 11 Alternative Rock Bands Influenced by Ozzy Osborne and Black Sabbath. The late vocalist’s influence went far beyond metal, as ’90s alt-rock can attest to. Ozzy Osbourne was a force of nature. He was the face and voice of heavy metal, the godfather of the genre, influencing thousands of other metal bands between […]
The Psychedelic Furs and The Chameleons at ACL Live: a night of nostalgia and sonic evolution from two iconic new wave acts wows Austin crowd. It’s been a great time to be an ’80s alternative music fan in Austin lately, but Tuesday night at ACL Live was particularly potent: new wave icons The Psychedelic Furs […]
Daron Malakian & Scars on Broadway “Addicted to The Violence” Review. (July 18, Scarred for Life Records) Seven years after Dictator, System of a Down guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian revives Scars on Broadway with Addicted to the Violence, a feral, frayed collection that finds catharsis in chaos. Malakian once again blends metal, punk, psych-pop, and world […]
New documentary Every Time You Lose Your Mind offers an unflinching look at Failure’s rise, fall, and rebirth. Streaming June 28 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ The new documentary Every Time You Lose Your Mind charts the tumultuous history of alternative pioneers Failure. Directed by frontman and multi-instrumentalist Ken Andrews, the film is an […]
UK Synth-pop icons OMD bring New Wave euphoria both past and present with ebullient Austin set. On a balmy June evening, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) transformed Austin’s ACL Live into a pulsating haven of synth-pop nostalgia and contemporary electronica. Touring in support of their 2o23 album, Bauhaus Staircase, the band delivered a performance […]
Few bands have sustained both creative relevance and live momentum quite like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (best known as OMD). With a catalog that helped define the sound of synth-pop in the 1980s and a 2023 album (Bauhaus Staircase) that landed them their highest UK chart position in decades, OMD is not content to […]
Michael Gira closes his latest incarnation of SWANS in defiant, majestic fashion on ‘Birthing’, their 26th studio release. On Swans’ new album Birthing (Young God Records/Mute, May 30, 2025), band mastermind Michael Gira delivers what he describes as his “final foray… into the all-consuming sound worlds” that have defined the band’s sonic identity since their […]
Peter Murphy ‘Silver Shade’ (Metropolis Records, May 9, 2025): Pioneering vocalist expands his sound on his new album, which includes guest appearances from Trent Reznor and more. Nearly a decade after his last studio album, Peter Murphy returns with ‘Silver Shade’ (Cooking Vinyl, May 9, 2025): a feral, adventurous record that feels like a culmination […]
Concert Review: Ministry Revisit Their Synth Pop Origins at Emo’s, Austin: Al Jourgensen and bandmates, flanked by openers Die Krupps and Nitzer Ebb, gave their ’80s new wave output an industrial makeover in a bucket list show for die-hard fans. Austin loves Ministry. The band, helmed by Al Jourgensen, who lived briefly in the Texas […]
Melvins 1983 ‘Thunderball’ Review: Buzz Osborne reunites with original drummer on a heavy, weird, short-but-sweet album. The Melvins have always thrived on reinvention. Whether pioneering sludge metal and grunge, dabbling in noise rock, or leaning into experimental absurdity, they’ve never been content to stay in one sonic lane. Their new release, Thunderball (April 18, Ipecac), […]
