Sophia Asare

Montreal rock band Islands [pictured] hone the splendidly scattered sound of their 2006 debut into more cohesive rock-orchestral arrangements on their latest release, Arm's Way. -Read an interview with Island’s lead Nick Thorburn at Pitchfork -Read an album review in Rollingstone -Catch Islands when they perform at Walter’s on June... continue reading on Houstonist

A new season of Austin City Limits premieres this Saturday with a performance by R.E.M.. Monday Sara Bareilles (CBS – The Late Show with David Letterman), 10:35 p.m. DeVotchka (NBC – Late Night With Conan O’Brien), 11:35 p.m. Tuesday Matt Costa (CBS – The Late Late Show with Craig... continue reading on Houstonist

Young Brit rockers The Kooks are back with plenty of catchy hooks on their latest record, Konk. -Watch a video performance at Rolling Stone -Read an album review in the London Times -Watch the video for the song, "Always Where I Need to Be" at Youtube -Buy Konk Phantom Planet... continue reading on Houstonist

Watch performances by Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and many others at the CMT Music Awards airing tonight at 7pm. Monday -CMT, 7pm: CMT Music Awards -ABC, 11:05pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Cobra Starship -NBC, 11:35pm: Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Spoon Tuesday -NBC, 2:05am: Last Call with Carson Daly, Morrissey -ABC,... continue reading on Houstonist

We're really excited about Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin's new album, Pershing. These guys have a demonstrative skill for creating polished melodic songs that are timeless. -Check out SSLYBS' recent Daytrotter Session -Read an album review and watch the music video for the song, "Think I Wanna Die," at... continue reading on Houstonist