Ola Podrida – “Jordanna”

Mount Righteous – “When the Child Awakes”

Spooky Folk – “My Niagra Heart”

Here it is!  Part 1 of our hasty preview of  the NX35 Conefrette.  Denton’s own Seryn plays early Thursday night at Sweetwater.

Other notables for Thursday include Carrie Rodriguez, Doug Burr and The Fox and the Bird.

See the full NX35 schedule here.

Watch the rest of Seryn’s show at Denton’s Church of Saint David of Wales: part 2, part 3, part 4.

The Internets is all over The Morning Benders. And you should be too. Their new album, Big Echo, is out March 9 via Rough Trade Records.

The Morning Benders – “Excuses”

You can also stream the Big Echo here, or on pretty much any music blog.

Listen to Joe Pug’s debut LP now at Spinner. Messenger is out Feb. 16 via Lightning Rod Records.

Read our review of Pug’s Nation of Heat EP here.

See also: “Swim Until You Can’t See Land.”

Both from Frightened Rabbit’s forthcoming album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, and both fantastic. The Winter of Mixed Drinks is out next month via FatCat.

If you haven’t heard 2008’s The Midnight Organ Fight, do it now.

The Tallest Man On Earth’s second LP, The Wild Hunt, is out April 13 via Dead Oceans. Here’s a taste of what’s to come.

The Tallest Man On Earth – “King of Spain”

Read our review of The Tallest Man On Earth’s 2008 album, Shallow Grave, here.

Stream the full album while you can on NPR’s First Listen. Courage of Others is out Feb. 2 via Bella Union.

And, if you are anywhere near North Texas in March, you should probably mark your calendar for Midlake’s show with The Flaming Lips at Denton’s NX35 Music Conferette.

I can’t stop listening to Elvis Perkins in Deerland.  Definitely one of the most underrated albums of 2009.

Mentions of The Low Anthem have scrolled across my glowing screen often as of late, but I sat oblivious to the band’s charms until last week. I happened upon their Lake Fever Sessions videos and now I am completely enamored. All of these videos are worth your time, but pay special attention to “This God Damn House.” It is something special.

With a menagerie of instruments–a beat up pump organ, a duct-taped baritone and a clarinet– the band creates a deceptively large orchestral-folk sound. It’s simple but full and comes with surprises. The organ’s foot pumps provide a strange but fitting rhythm that clicks just beneath the song throughout. And, the song’s last few bars take an ethereal turn when a pair of cell phones takes a whistled melody to another world.

Watch.  You won’t be disappointed.

If you want more, check out the video for “Charlie Darwin” from the bands latest long player, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. Another gem.

Johnson’s aching melodies and weary delivery are at the forefront of the album’s opening track, “Twenty Cycles to the Ground.” But, Molina’s backing harmonies are a nice addition, providing levity by filling the crags in Johnson’s voice.

Molina & Johnson – “Twenty Cycles To the Ground”

Looking forward to hearing more from Molina & Johnson. The album is out Nov. 3 on Secretly Canadian.