Music Roundup: Toadies, Old 97’s, Midlake

Todd Lewis photo by Jeff Barringer/Club Kingsnake

Even the Ex-Girlfriend, who’s not especially inclined to rock, is excited about the return of The Toadies, the Fort Worth band led by Todd Lewis. The new album, No Deliverance, isn’t due for another month-plus but Spin has an MP3 of the title track. Sounding like something Steve Albini would’ve recorded a decade ago, the bluesy swamp-metal is bound to get under your skin if you favor fuzz vocals and buzzy guitar licks. Give it a turn and tell us what you think.

An autograph-seeking Battlestar Galactica fan is denied passage beyond the velvet rope and turns into a dancing/no-prisoner-taking superhero, at least in his mind. “Dance with Me” is the funkiest song in the Old 97’s catalog, and the video for the first single from the new album Blame it On Gravity is a hoot.

Midlake is recording a new album in its Denton hometown. Quick’s Hunter Hauk gets the scoop on the band’s influences (Jethro Tull and British folk) and the difficulties of the overdubbing process from guitarist Eric Pulido, who’s also found time to open an online coffee-delivery service.