Pitchfork

People tend to give up on a city when its two best known music acts are VH1 band-on-the-run Flickerstick and Drowning "let tha bodies hit tha floor" Pool. But people in Dallas are smarter than they let on, as J.R. and Eleanor Southworth Ewing can attest. Their philosophy is simple: let the crap go national and keep the good stuff to themselves. And they've done just that with the area's best-kept secret: Centro-Matic. In the vein of the Flaming Lips and Grandaddy, Centro-Matic deliver catchy, fuzzed-out pop songs with endearingly lazy vocals. And at the end of this month, they'll be headlining a US tour in support of their sixth full-length, Distance and Clime. Having released five of those albums, plus a handful of seven-inches, in just two years, singer/songwriter Will Johnson is certainly not at a loss for words. See for yourself:

08-31 Denton, TX - Dan's Bar
09-05 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
09-06 Kansas City, MO - Hurricane
09-07 St Louis, MO - St. Louis University
09-07 St Louis, MO - Hi-Pointe
09-08 Chicago, IL - Hideout
09-09 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
09-10 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
09-12 Boston, MA - TT the Bear's
09-15 New York, NY- Knitting Factory
09-16 Philadelphia, PA - Khyber
09-17 Washington, DC - Metro Cafe
09-19 Athens, GA - Tasty World
09-20 Atlanta, GA - Echo Lounge
09-21 Birmingham, AL - Nick
09-28 Houston, TX - Rudyard's
09-29 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room
10-05 Austin, TX - Stubb's (inside)
10-06 San Antonio, TX - TBA