It List: Thursday

Delmore Pilcrow/Manned Missiles (J&Js): Chris Garver, central figure behind Delmore Pilcrow, is one of the few artists we've consistently covered over the life of this blog who seems to continually improve, and Manned Missiles seem to be a fairly enjoyable little indie pop band.

Anavan/Sydney Confirm/Billingham's Defense System (Fallout): I totally heart when DL accidentally posts about a show that is happening on a day when I'm supposed to write the It List, because it means that I don't have to do shit. So scroll down to yesterday's It List and read what DL had to say about this show, and we promise it'll be happening if you should up at Fallout Tonight.

Unwed Sailor/Ishi/The Boat Lights/Menkena (The Cavern): Dallas scenesters have been talking up a storm in recent weeks regarding Ishi, a Dallas based synth pop band that has been making waves at after parties and DJ events for the past couple of months. The buzz about the group seems to revolve largely around their live shows, and we've heard from a number of people that Ishi should not be judged based solely on the material found on their Myspace page, as they have made a good number of changes and adjustments to their sound since posting those tracks a while back; including, I assume, writing new tracks. If true, this is probably a good thing, because the stuff I've listened to so far sound like what might happen if Sea and Cake got together with Everything But the Girl and hired Jesse McCartney to front a Junior Boys cover band. Not that soft and introspective is bad (I'm accused of being a pussy a lot more often than I am of being a noise extremist or something), but most of these tracks pack the punch of a goose feather, and there's just something about the mixture of soft synths and acoustic guitar ballads that doesn't sit well in these circumstances. However, the fact that we've heard so many good things about the group's newer material means that we'll have to give them another chance once we're able to catch them live/ hear some of this new stuff. Elsewhere, another Dallas act, the Boat Lights, goes through a lot of stylistic jumps, from quiet indie folk a la Wooden Wand to Arcade Fire full band drama to synth heavy instrumental pieces that seem to be influenced by the minimal soundscapes of Tangerine Dream, or possibly other influences that were themselves influenced by Tangerine Dream. Not bad for what it is. And finally, Dallas via Brooklyn act Menkena describes themselves as "shoegaze,"which is accurate only if they are referring to the most docile aspects of the suddenly hip late 80's genre. Not sure how "shoegaze" something can be when acoustic guitar is the most prominent instrument in any given mix, but I don't think I care enough to complain.

Top Notch Thursdays with Sober (The Cavern)

80's Night with DJ G (Hailey's)