David Dondero @ Mohawk

The evidence is in.

Based on five-odd performances during this year's SXSW Music Festival, a touring history with local music alumni Spoon and an album recorded by Sweatbox mastermind Mike Vasquez, it appears that David Dondero is, indeed, in love with Austin. Or at least "in like." "Simple Love," Dondero's seventh and latest full-length release holds tight to the alt-country sound that earned him national recognition (Bill Boilen, host of NPR's "All Songs Considered," calls Dondero "one of the best singer/songwriters I've ever heard"). The record also strays to a darker, more morose place than that of his previous, critically heralded release "South of the South." Tackling broken hearts, restlessness, endless travel and loss, Dondero uses "Simple Love" as a sort of travelogue, zig-zagging across North America with tracks such as "The Prince William Sound," "Rothko Chapel" and "Mighty Mississippi," eventually finding love — at least for recording purposes — in Austin.  — Shannon McGarvey (Originally featured on Austin360.com)

David Dondero, courtesy of Team Love