Austin-based Anglophile pop quintet Voxtrot just can't help but draw comparisons to bands like Belle & Sebastian, Morrissey, the Wedding Present, and even the Cure. After a couple well-received EPs, the band put out their self-titled debut full-length earlier this year (see above single "Firecracker"), and then proceeded to tour up a storm. Now the boys are back on the West Coast: Voxtrot headlines an extremely twee-centric all-ages show (Division Day, Tullycraft, and Math......

And we mean everybody: the New York Times, Pitchfork, the ever-fickle blogosphere. Seems that it's not hard to garner that kind of love and affection when you're a Brit-leaning pop quintet straight outta Austin. With clever arrangements, charming melodies, limber lyrics, and jangly guitars, Voxtrot just can't help but draw comparisons to bands like Belle & Sebastian, Morrissey, the Wedding Present, and even the Cure. After a string of well-received EPs, their self-titled debut......

After kittens yawning and cross-species friendship, dear sweet Jens Lekman may be the most precious thing found in all of nature. The Gothenberg Swede makes orchestral pop songs in the vein of Morrissey or the Magnetic Fields without even being gay (just European). To promote Night Falls Over Kortedala, one of the best reviewed albums of the year, Jens has been touring around the States with his almost-all-girl backing band: For the 10/23-11/10 leg......

[REDACTED COMPANY NAME] [REDACTED ADDRESS] October 19, 2007 To: Susan, Acquisitions Grp From: MvB Subject: Math & Physics Club - Initial Impressions Onstage 10:30pm. All very cute! New EP Baby I'm Yours (see discography). Jangly twee pop crossed with a dollop of Morrissey (i.e., over-literate sadsack drone w/happy-sunshine guitars). Title track here. Setlist blends together into long-but-listenable romantic up-and-let-down song. Liked "Do You Keep A Diary" -- cross-promo opp with Moleskine? Too much "ba ba-ba......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......

Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo, so you already know that any vaguely Mexican destination is going to be filled with jackasses drinking margaritas and acting like idiots over what isn't really Mexican independence day. We're fine with the drunkenness, we're fine with the jackassery, but really, there are much better ways to spend your day and night than in some overly adorned restaurant. Here are three of them, and since we know you're going to......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

Dear Dears, is it something we said? Did we not return your phone calls? Did we spill a drink on your favorite shoes? Because we really don't understand why you would play a set without acknowledging your audience unless we had personally offended you in some way. Sure, because of the weather, Neumo's last night was pretty damn empty, but the fans who were there were enthusiastic, so the lack of interaction was that......

Here's to the ice melting away because there are some good shows this week. Tuesday 28th >>> Cat Power at the Showbox. Chan Marshall plays the piano and sings. Our heart breaks. That's just how it is. She's on NPR, too. *mp3: The Greatest 8pm doors; tickets $30 at the door. >>> The Lemonheads at The Crocodile. Evan Dando's spent the last few years focusing on drugs solo work, but now he's brought back......

While some members of Seattlest spent their Saturday night listening to a bunch of twee pussies, we were enjoying one of the punkest bands to emerge in many-a year (assuming the term "punk" still means something and/or can be used to describe an ethos). Art Brut put on one of the most entertaining shows we've seen in recent memory, thanks in large part to energetic, charismatic frontman Eddie Argos, who manages to be utterly......

Back in 2003, when Art Brut formed, the British music scene was dominated by power pop outfits like The Libertines, who were better as celebrities than musicians. Today, we have similarly over-hyped bands like The Arctic Monkeys and The Subways, who release albums that NME fawns over for six months until the next big thing comes along. Thank God for Art Brut. Their first single "Formed a Band," purportedly written in the first 15 minutes......

Saturday night offered quite the dilemma for indie rock fans: Should one buy tickets for the KEXP Benefit show at Neumo's or Franz Ferdinand at the Paramount? Luckily, Franz was also playing the following night, which allowed Seattlest to attend both shows and not miss a thing. The KEXP Benefit show featured six acts, so it started early---doors at 5, first act at 6:30pm early. Had that first act been anybody but Math and Physics......

What better way to enjoy Memorial Day weekend than under a cloudless sky with a sweltering sun on the hottest day of the year? Seattlest hates hot weather (we tend to sweat easily and a lot), but we braved Saturday's exxxtreme temps to catch some outstanding music at Sasquatch. When it was all said and done, we had seen eight full acts and pieces of another three; we also managed to successfully avoid sunburn.......