Track 22

‘A Good Woman Is Hard To Find.’ Apparently so are searches for this new indie-rock trio that don’t result in Papa Roach fan-sites. 

REALLY GREAT SUMMER LISTEN (because we don’t know spring in Austin): Blood Orange, aka Dev Haynes. I mean, his debut album is titled Coastal Grooves, for Christ’s sake. And, I know we’re all supposed to hate Lana Del Rey now and whatever but he put out one of the better Blue Jeans remixes yesterday: http://www.nowness.com/day/2012/4/4

*Sutphin Boulevard above*

Symptoms of Post-SX Depression often include dizziness, excessive sleeping, and  desire to see every upcoming show in Austin for the next four months until the 2013 festival countdown begins. Here’s what I dug up this weekend. Per usual summer months, the lineup does not disappoint. If bitterness is setting in that you don’t have a Coachella ticket, this will give you something to look forward to. 

3/28- Wild Child at ACL-Live 

3/31- Shakey Graves at White Horse

4/11- Bowerbirds / Dry The River at Parish

4/11- Real Estate at Mohawk (‘Easy’ above)

4/13- Delta Spirit at Emo’s

4/13- School of Seven Bells / Exitmusic at Mohawk 

4/17- Charlift / Nite Jewel / Love Inks at Mohawk 

4/24- Bear in Heaven at Parish

4/26- Feist at Stubb’s

4/27/28/29- Austin Psych Fest 

4/29- Deer Tick at Antone’s

5/4- Sarah Jaffe at Parish

5/4- Active Child / Balam Acab / Superhumanoids at Mohawk

5/4- Growler at ND

5/8- Tennis / Vacactioner at Parish

5/10- Washed Out at Mohawk

5/18- M83 at Stubb’s

5/25- Ty Segall / White Fences at Mohawk

5/27- Class Actress at Red 7 

5/29- Margot & Nuclear So Sos at Mohawk

5/30- Tune-Yards at Mohawk

6/1- Two Door Cinema Club at Stubb’s

6/3- Best Coast at Emo’s 

6/9- Head and the Heart at Stubb’s 

6/11- Temper Trap / Crocodiles at Stubb’s 

6/26- Lower Dens / No Joy at Parish

8/2- Dirty Projectors / Wye Oak at Emo’s East

Ready or not, SXSW is here… and somehow, I’m finding the time to share my top 90 something acts only hours before the event commences and Austin becomes the largest accumulation of hipsters, tech geeks, and awesome music for 9 days straight. This list may be a bit outdated, since countless musicians seem to be tagging along daily, but should give you a pretty good idea of who to watch for 2012/13. 

1,2,3

Alabama Shakes

Andrew Bird

Beach Fossils

Bear in Heaven 

Ben Kweller

Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Best Coast

Big Deal

Black Ryder

Blitzen Trapper

Blood Orange

Blouse

Bruce Springsteen

Cashier No. 9

Caveman

Chairlift

Citizen Cope

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Class Actress

Cloud Nothings

Counting Crows

Craft Spells

Crocodiles

Crystal Fighters

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. 

Daughter

Delta Spirit

Dry The River

EXITMUSIC

Fanfarlo

Fiona Apple

Flight Facilities

Friends

Gardens & Villa

Gauntlet Hair

Girls

Grimes

Growlers

High Highs

Howler

Ivan & Alyosha

Javelin

Jay Z

Jimmy Cliff

Kimbra

Lionel Richie

Lost In The Trees

Love Inks

Love Language

Lower Dens

Lumerians

M. Ward

Margot and The Nuclear So and So’s

Marmalakes 

Matthew Dear

Michael Kiwanuka

Miike Snow

Mikal Cronin

Mumford & Sons

Nada Surf

Nas

Neon Indian

Nicolas Jaar

Niki & The Dove

Of Monsters and Men

PAPA

Parlovr

RACES

Reptar

Santigold

Sarah Jaffe

Say Hi

SBTRKT

Shakey Graves

Sharon Van Etten

Skrillex

Sleigh Bells

Superhumanoids

T.I

Tashaki Miyaki

Temper Trap

Tennis

The Black Angels

The Drums

The Features

The Shins

Thee Oh Sees

Third Eye Blind

This Will Destroy You

Vacationer

Wale

War On Drugs

We Were Promised Jetpacks

White Rabbits

Widowspeak

Wild Child

YACHT

Yellow Ostrich

Young Buffalo

Young Magic

Youth Lagoon

Zola Jesus

ZULU Winter

White Arrows

SXSW Spotlight: Exit Black Keys, enter Alabama Shakes. The most familiar band you haven’t heard enough of. We were long overdue for some fresh bluesy rock, especially with a lead powerhouse that feels like Otis Redding’s prodigy child.  I’d expect there’s plenty more soulful goodness from this southern quartet. 

Top picks: Hold On (above), On Your Way

SXSW Spotlight: Exitmusic. The talented husband/wife duo that is Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church, who feel a bit like the Adams Family counter to Tennis. A dark and totally epic listen, their sound is a colorful swirl of Radiohead, Sigur Ross, Bjork, and everything else that is magical. 

“… Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church always makes me think of two sweet kids strolling hand-in-hand into Armageddon” – Los Angeles Citybeat.

Listen to The Modern Age above and watch video for The Hours here.

So this is Grimes, another one of your super buzzed about, SXSW showcasing artists. Claire Boucher returns from Montreal Canada, kindly bestowing upon us her electro pop and killer style. She has those high-pitched, Alex Winston-like vocals that you can’t quite establish as completely infectious or borderline annoying. 

Side note: If I were a fashion/photography extraordinaire, I’d link you here

SXSW Highlight: Why are Illinois and Minnesota producing better garage rock than California? Check out Howler, a new Minneapolis based trio with a Vaccines meet Smith Westerns sound and a debut LP, America Give Up, out soon. 

 …I basically locked myself in the basement to write a lot of the songs on America Give Up. I wanted to make it disgusting, like something grungy with a pop shine.