Here are the band’s latest videos:

“An Exploding Whisper”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyhgjT3qo7s

“That Sinking Feeling (live)”:

Pale plays at Summer Fest on Saturday, 6.2.12, at 2:30pm on Stage 7.

California band Infantree plays in Houston at Free Press Summer Fest 2012, along with a free in-store performance at Cactus Music.

Check out the band’s 2011 performance on Conan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDJT0OdchdM

Infantree plays an in-store at Cactus Music at 1pm on Saturday, 6.2.12, and on the 29-95.com stage at Free Press Summer Fest at 6pm on Sunday, 6.3.12.

More information on the band may be found at www.infantreemusic.com.

“The One With Kid”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS6g_pUlFRI

“Fritz’s Corner”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thUcvfOXH2I

“Machine Shed Wrestling”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XVaR1ttNBY

68 Angry Minutes trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ng2fNHBhw

More information at www.localh.com.

Also check out front man Scott Lucas’ other band, Scott Lucas & The Married Men, which releases a new album (Blood Half Moon) in June.

Fingers crossed…

In the mean time, stream this on Soundcloud.

Chicago’s Maps & Atlases comes to Houston as part of Free Press Summer Fest, which runs June 2-3, 2012, in Eleanor Tinsley Park. The band recently released Beware and Be Grateful, an album SPIN calls “a seamless, sleepless avant-indie night of math terror, slinky syncopation and pop epiphanies.”

Here’s a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqQ9i5m_pEk

Maps & Atlases plays Free Press Summer Fest’s Chipotle stage on Saturday, 6.2.12, at 5:30pm.

Saturday, 6.2.12

Stage 1 (starts @ 11:30 am): G Wizz, Sideshow Tramps, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Morris Day & the Time, Z-Ro, Major Lazer, Snoop Dogg, Afrojack

Budweiser Stage (starts @ 12 pm): The Wheel Workers, Best Coast, Starfucker, Phantogram, Two Door Cinema Club, Erykah Badu, Flaming Lips

Stage 3 (starts @ 12 pm): Ceeplus Bad Knives, Fat Tony, Turquoise Jeep, Diplo, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, R3hab/Bobby Burns

29-95 Stage (starts @ 12 pm): Ashes of Babylon, thelastplaceyoulook, Brains for Dinner, Bombon, Los Skarnales, Venomous Maximus, Valient Thorr, Fatal Flying Guilloteens

Chipotle Stage (starts 12:30 pm): Zlam Dunk, The Big Sleep, Quiet Corral, Chelsea Wolfe, Sister Crayon, Maps & Atlases, Jeff the Brotherhood, DJ Bizz

Stage 6 (starts @ 12 pm): The Journey Agents, East Cameron Folkcore, Espantapajaros, Zorch, Love Horse, Tyagaraja, Sundress, Bad Veins

Stage 7 (starts @ 12 pm): Kirby Brown, The Eastern Sea, Pale, Eyes Burn Electric, Glasnost, Bang Bangz, Riff Tiffs, Caddywhompus

Super Happy Fun Land Stage (starts 12 pm): Papaya, Clockpole, The Annoysters, Escatones, Lazer Cun*zz, Gorealah Soul, Poopy Lungstuffing, Black Leather Jesus, Future Blondes, Rusted Shut, David Liebe Hart

Sunday, 6.3.12

Stage 1 (starts @ 11:30 am): DJ Fredster, Grandfather Child, Robert Ellis, Young the Giant, Willie Nelson, Avett Brothers, Pretty Lights

Budweiser Stage (starts @ 12 pm): DJ Sun & Resolution, Wild Moccasins, Fitz & the Tantrums, Portugal. The Man, Descendents, Primus

Stage 3 (starts @ 12 pm): Suraj K, Bart Black, MC Buda Love, LIMB, Big Freedia, Wallpaper, Danny Brown, Shabazz Palaces

29-95 Stage (starts @ 12 pm): Harts of Oak, Papermoons, Second Lovers, Ponderosa, Last Year’s Men, Vanaprasta, Infanthee, David Garza

Chipotle Stage (starts @ 12:30 pm): Suite 709, Quiet Company, Featherface, The Manichean, A Sea Es, Orgone, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Electric Touch

Stage 6 (starts @ 12pm): Jon Black, the Freakouts, New Bruises, Square & Compass, Ancient Wisdom, Touche Amore, Ume, Girl In a Coma

Stage 7 (starts @ 12pm): Black Coffee, Red Bull TBA, the Electric Primadonnas, the Small Sounds, New York City Queens, the Sour Notes, the Watermarks, The Tontons

Super Happy Fun Land Stage (starts @ 12pm): Immigrant Punk, the Anarchitex, Black Magic Marker, Muzak John, Demonic Hen, the Grass Skirts, Jody Seabody & the Whirls, Darwin’s Finches, Giant Battle Monster

Information on passes to the two-day event, which runs June 2-3, 2012, may be found here.

Check back daily for Houston Calling‘s coverage of Summer Fest, which will include previews of many of the artists performing this year.

Get your tickets now.

More information from APS:

This June, Aurora has an exciting opportunity to relocate to a new space that will not only be our homebase for indoor screenings, but also give us room for more education programs, as well as accommodate administrative offices, video library, and program space under one roof – for the first time in the history of the organization.

Our goal is to have the new home ready for the upcoming Extremely Shorts Film Festival, but we need chairs, equipment and supplies in order to make this possible. That is where you come in- we need you to pledge your support!

As a non-profit organization, we rely on the support of our community and membership to help us achieve our mission and programs. So, we have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help us fundraise for this exciting goal. Local artists have contributed by creating exciting benefits to help entice you into supporting our cause, including artist-made gifts and invitations to exclusive events. Check out the benefits here.

But we only have 30 days to reach our goal, so check out our Kickstarter page to view our video, make a contribution and learn more about this pivotal change for the organization.

Read the CultureMap article with more details and images of Aurora Picture Show’s new location.

In 2004, Houston’s Southern Backtones released a self-titled EP that marked a radical shift in the band’s sound. Originally a rockabilly project–with a fairly rabid fanbase–the Backtones instead channeled glam-era Bowie and late-80s college rock, alienating some fans but gaining many more in the process. In the years since the last release, other than the occasional single, the band has been mostly quiet, honing new songs, chasing storms, and finishing up 2011′s Honky Tonk Blood film. Given the band’s previous dramatic change, it should come as no surprise that La Vie En Noir brings another departure in styles and sound.

Singer/guitarist Hank Schyma’s deep and sexy vocals are in full effect on the new album, but it’s the music that again is the major difference. Full of spaghetti western influences–with the requisite hints of glam–La Vie En Noir is a dark, mind-altered trip through windy country roads and out of the way, Tarentino-esque dive bars. Southern Backtones’ music seems a perfect soundtrack for these types of experiences, and songs like “Bandera” (moody, country-tinged) and “Dive Disco Misfits” (glam rock) best demonstrate the extreme range of the band’s influences.

That’s not to say that Schyma and company are confused about the band’s direction. Far from it. The Backtones’ frontman has had these songs in his head for years, and with line-up shifts, the movie, and life in general, these things take time to make. Lyrically, Schyma mixes late-night drama, heartbreak (such as on the impressive “She Crossed The Line”), and road trips into a palatable mix of songs that, while most definitely varied, manages to work as a cohesive unit.

“Call Off Your Dogs,” a live staple and long-time fan favorite from early album Los Tormentos De Amor, and “Dirty” (from the band’s last album), both get unnecessary remix treatments on La Vie En Noir. While it’s easy to understand why Schyma might feel the need to update his old rockabilly tune to the newer sound, the song was fine as-is. “Dirty”–without a doubt a great song–almost seems a bit too clean here. However, these are minor missteps on an otherwise impressive album, and regardless, listeners new to the Backtones won’t know the difference.

Purchase and download La Vie En Noir via Amazon or iTunes. More information may be found at www.zenhillecords.com.

Southern Backtones plays in Houston this Saturday (5.12.12) at 3:30pm at the 2nd Annual Haute Wheels Houston Houston food truck festival, held at HCC Southwest West Loop Campus.