There’s this little band called Brasstronaut that had me throwing around this term of Jazz-rock in my mind for a long time. After seeing them at SXSW, that’s been skewed a little bit. The first interaction I had with their music was seeing this beautiful video for “Old World Lies” that Salazar put together. Then I picked up their Old World Lies EP and fell in love with it’s slightly sinister feeling and moody lyrics. Lush pianos, triumphant horns lead a collection of beautifully crafted songs leading up to “Old World Lies”.

I was shocked and intrigued to see them on the list for SXSW; and caught them playing the Canadian Music Showcase at Paradise on 6th. What followed was a show filled with some of the elements I heard on record mixed with lots of great new moments from their full-length debut. It wasn’t quite the jazz-rock I was expecting to see live, but a lot more. They threw around instruments, percussion and dances. There was even a electric woodwind! Most of the material I hadn’t heard before, and was floored to hear their full-length debut had made it’s release in Canada and will be released stateside this week. The record, Mount Chimaera, leads off with “Slow Knots”, a track that leads with the words “Do you really think that I betrayed you? Honey, don’t you know that i’m too dumb for that.” That track was a great buildup live and translates well to record. Another highlight is “Hearts Trompet”, a slow piece with a triumphant ending. It was good to hear them incorporate some of the sounds from Old World Lies EP into the track “Same Same” and a reworked “Insect” to end this great debut from Brasstronaut. Hopefully they’ll be around stateside sometime soon, but I look forward to hearing more from this group. Take a listen to “Slow Knots” below.

Download: Brasstronaut- Slow Knots
Watch: Brasstronaut- Old World Lies

The Smith Westerns AND a smoke machine? You have got to be kidding me! Never in my life have I been so excited for such a tiny show at The Latitude in Austin. That’s not sarcasm. As the band nicely placed their smoke machines around their set, I got the feeling they were trying to make up for a subpar performance the day before at the NPR day show. And by all accounts, they succeeded.

The first thing you’ll notice about Smith Westerns is that they’re young. None of them are old enough to drink. But they’ve been honing in on their sound for a few years. On record, they’re a fuzz-pop romp with teenage-angst lyrics. Live, they’re just a little more awkward. That’s ultimately where their best charm comes from; loose blue jeans, tucked in shirts, boots and their personal way of moving about on-stage.

But enough of that, The Smith Westerns really shine when it comes to their beautifully crafted pop music. Kicking it off with “My Heart” from their self-titled debut, they’re off. Even those these kids are young, they know their influences. One of their better tracks that isn’t on their debut, “Imagine, Part 3” sounds straight out of Electric Light Orchestra’s library. They played a few new tracks that will ultimately make a more mature follow up to their debut. If anything, you can criticize Cullen Omori’s vocals which lo-fi on record don’t translate perfectly to a live stage environment. Often, it gets lost in their fuzzed-out sound. Nothing comes close to Max Kakacek on guitar though. Clearly, he’s taking the stage prescience away from his bandmates, but only because he’s that good at crafting hooks in every song. Take a song like “Tonight” with the guitars so lo-fi and muddled on record and Max takes precedent during their live show.

But they had to end with something, right? They chose the one song that everyone was bound to find floating the interwebs; “Be My Girl”. The lyrics are simple enough; “Just be my girl, out there in this world.” It’s not terribly deep lyrics, but ones we can all relate to. Give these kids a few years and they’ll be a force of fuzz-pop that everyone will be paying attention too. Right now, they’ll settle with their awkwardness and a smoke machine. *

* The smoke machine was going until it made the smoke alarm go off in the venue. Luckily, Cullen’s stage banter had him explaining that the Smith Westerns were too hot for this venue to happen. And that’s the truth.

On Thursday I set my sights on the NPR Day party and I wasn’t let down at all. It was the best lineup I saw all week and here’s a breakdown:

Brooklyn Riders
Way to go NPR for squeezing in a classical band in to the day lineup! This band was the sweet sounds of Brooklyn. I had a secret ambition to catch a classical band this year in Austin and NPR filled that desire. Towards the end of the set, they explained that their last few tracks would be what you hear when you get to Brooklyn and they weren’t kidding.

Smith Westerns
I’ll write a better review on the Smith Westerns later, but I had to mention that this particular performance was way off. One of the disadvantages of having such a young band, possibly. I had seen them back in Atlanta a little bit back when they opened for Girls, and they were spot on.

G-Side
And another punch from NPR in which they threw a hip-hop act in there from Hunsville, Alabama. How did I know they were from Huntsville? Because they were all wearing matching t-shirts of course! It’s not my arena to judge hip-hop, but I thought they did a pretty good job. They kept talking about bringing it back old school and I was afraid since I was near the stage, they might have me participate in some old school like Das Racist did the night before.

Surfer Blood
Ok, ok. I finally get it, you guys! They’re a surf-rock band, sort of! I’ve listened to Astrocoast a good amount of times, and while I find it pretty entertaining; I had yet to resonate with it. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this band live either. The guitars are really tight, the vocals are very good. It reminded me of how consistent Spoon is in concert. But ultimately, it’s just not for me.

Worst Thursday Moment
When the fire alarm went off at our hotel, and we all had to evacuate after smelling something burning at 2am. It turns out it was just something burning on a stove. Keep it under control.

Best 6th Street Sighting
There were people on stilts!

Worst Marketing Idea on 6th Street
Handing out free cds on 6th street. Ok, so maybe a worse idea was those people who were trying to sell CDs for $5, but probably didn’t sell any.

Most Ridiculous Indoor Venue
Trying to see anybody indoor at The Mohawk was pretty crazy. We were just trying to get in there to see Phantogram. But I really wanted to get in to see Collections of Colonies of Bees, but Spinner magazine was too busy tweeting about it every 5 seconds and hype it up.

Wait, There’s a Panel for That?
I found out there was a music panel that was discussing the “Twilight: New Moon” soundtrack and I was both impressed and appalled. I was impressed because I found it interesting to dissect why and how that soundtrack came together with such good acts, and appalled because I could imagine since it was the only Twilight themed panel at SXSW this year it might be filled with Twi-hards. No.

I really wish there was a way to measure anticipation. As I’ve mentioned previously, there were so many “buzz” bands going into SXSW, and arguably Sleigh Bells were the King and Queen of them (assuming that you disregard that there’s a supergroup of James Mercer and Danger Mouse that is about as exciting as watching paint dry while listening to synthesizers). It’s those few minutes before Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss take the stage that you realize that everyone is hoping to see something special; their SXSW debut at The Parish on 6th street. I have to admit that I was overwhelmingly excited after all the “buzz” (there’s that word again) that was brought around them after CMJ last year. Sure, I’ve heard the leaked mp3s; “Ring Ring” and “Crown on the Ground” are perfect teasers for what you could imagine to be a really great live show put in the right hands.

So here’s the big question: Are Sleigh Bells worth the hype? Fuck yes. And I’ll explain why; Though you’ll feel like you’ve seen elements of what they present in their live show, it’s ultimately nothing like you’ve seen before. It’s more of a music revelation and a kick in the face that’s here to remind us that 2010 is the year in music we’ve been waiting for such a long time and a year that will go down in everyone’s memory.

As for the show, you’ve probably heard rough descriptions that don’t do give any of the aura around Sleigh Bells justice. Alexis commands the stage like a wilder Karen O and Alison Mosshart; you instantly love her. She screams and howls and jumps around on stage while Derek rips away at the guitar with a macbook hooked up the speakers for the backing tracks. The crowd at NPR day show knew this is we had been waiting in an increasingly heated afternoon at The Parish.

The energy was infectious and I loved every minute of it. It was gone too soon as technical difficulties held them down from performing a few more tracks. They did have enough to get through one stunning performance of “Crown on the Ground”; a performance that had the crowd chanting along with Alexis thanks to the power of MP3s on the world wide interwebs.

Luckily enough, on my flight back to Atlanta, we got delayed and I ended up getting to talk to Alexis who was on the same flight and it was quite great. The stage persona is completely gone and she’s one of the most likable musicians who just happen to grow up in New Jersey, like me. I had found out that the technical difficulties were a result of switching to a macbook for the sound and Logic files being too large. But it didn’t really matter on that afternoon after the echoes of “Crown on the Ground” had finished. At that moment, Sleigh Bells had just won SXSW 2010.

Based on pure excitement, this is the band everyone was most excited to see at The NPR day showcase on Thursday. After talking to others in attendance, there’s more than a good percentage of them who are familiar with their stunning debut Gorilla Manor. And why not? The album is a great mix of harmonies, catchy drums, and carefully thought out guitar work. After a few listens I had declared it an awesome hybrid of Modern Skirts and Fleet Foxes, but there’s still no comparison to how great it is. It’s been on constant repeat on my iPod for over a month.

They jumped right into the opener from the album, a song called “Wide Eyes”. The audience applauded those first “ahh oh oh”s and danced along up in the breakdown when they sang “All the men of faith and men of science had their questions. Could it ever be on earth as it is in heaven?”. Then promptly proceeded to finish off the final part of that rocking track by jumping around on stage and wailing their guitars and drums.

After a few more tracks from Gorilla Manor including “Shape Shifter” and “Who Knows Who Cares”, they let us know they were going to play a Talking Heads cover. If you’re listened to the record, you know that they do more than a adequate cover of “Warning Sign” by the Talking Heads, but it’s another creature live. What I love about their cover in the first place is turn this song entirely into their own. All the way down to their take on the breakout vocals when they blare out “Hear my Voice! Move my hair! Move it around a lot, I don’t care what I remember.” These guys are just having fun on stage.

As it’s nearing the end of their set, audience members start screaming out requests. They’re all requesting “Airplanes”, and judging from the set, they were about to play it anyway. They kicked into their ballad from Gorilla Manor, and swooned the whole crowd as everyone lipped along to “I call, I want you back”. I don’t find it odd that “Airplanes” is becoming that ballad that becomes the most requested song at the show. The grand finale of their set is one of the best tracks from the album, “Sun Hands”. It builds up to finale, and right before it takes off, Kelcey Ayer does his guitar breakdown, and the finale kicks in before winding down in their harmonies.

At the very least, this was the most emotional show I had seen during Thursday’s NPR showcase. The show left me completely impressed by their ability to take the beautiful tracks from Gorilla Manor and translate it to a stunning live show. After having time to think everything over, it was the best set I saw at SXSW this year. I even saw them again on Saturday, just to make sure it wasn’t one off, and they had the same energy, same vocal buildups and same sense of excitement on stage. They played over nine shows at SXSW, and I’m amazed to find that these guys kept the same energy every single time. All I know is I can’t wait til the next time I get to see these guys. Which, hopefully, will be May 1st at The Masquerade in Atlanta.

Rural Alberta Advantage
They made my favorite record of 2009 and they returned to SXSW with a few new songs and bigger crowds. Previously performed at the Daytrotter sessions, they played a fleshed out “Barnsyard” and played through some of the best material from Hometowns. It was great to see the festival crowd catching on to their act, and they played nine shows throughout the festival, i believe. It’s an upgrade from last year’s pizza place show, but I’m still very fond of their show at Central Presbyterian and their goodnight song.

Morning Benders
I suppose you could call them a “buzz” band, if you believe in that kind of thing. My early analysis of “Big Echo”, the debut from this band had me eagerly awaiting their surf-pop filled set. I wasn’t disappointed at all, as they plowed through some of the best tracks from their new record. From what I’ve heard, these kids are pretty consistent.

Keepaway
They did their best Animal Collective impression, but it’s hard not to see the influence that Merriweather Post Pavilion is having on countless numbers of bands at this years festival. I hadn’t heard them on record prior to the show, but it’s a band I’d like to look more in to.

Das Racist
From what I’ve heard, this hip-hop group is suppossed to be more of a parody project. I’m not sure if that’s true, but they did bring some hip-hop to the crowd at Buffalo Billards Wednesday night .

Most Unnecessarily Overcrowded SXSW Day show:
Neon Indian at Red 7. Was he one of the most popular acts at SXSW because of his appearance on Jimmy Fallon, signing to Mountain Dew’s label, or because he had a billboard on Red River? Who knows, but that place was packed.

Best 6th Street Sighting
Well there was a Japanese marching band, countless acoustic guitars, but I think it has to be that guy walking around with the lawn gnome in a backpack on his chest.

Best Wednesday Moment
The Morning Benders playing “Excuses”, arguably the best track off Big Echo, and the audience singing along to the harmonies at the end of the track. You can tell everyone in attendance was very familiar with this track as they sang along to the “oh oh ohh” vocals. Instant SXSW classic.

I listened to Everybody, Come Outside and it’s a beautifully layered dreamy-pop album. Restrained when it has to be, but shows it’s louder side on “This Land Used to Be My Land” and “Southern Ocean”. I had it on repeat for weeks before seeing them live last year, and it grew on me as a record that felt like veteran musicians who meticulously crafted this album. The album’s finale, a track called “I Feel Like I’m a Million Years Old” is a 13 minute piece that takes you out of your consciousness and in to another world.

So when I got to see them live at the Drunken Unicorn, I found it surprising to see the boys who make up Pomegranates are barely 20 years old (Only one had a 21+ wristband, if I remember correctly). It turns out their album isn’t a fluke as their live show is just as dreamy as the record. So I definitely recommend them as show to check out in SXSW. I posted the lead track from the record below, but you really need to check out the whole thing.

Download: Pomegranates- Everybody, Come Outside!

There was only ONE band that we found on 6th street in Austin last year giving away free hugs and that was Quiet Company. They showed us their video on a PSP, and invited us to their last SXSW show on a lonely Sunday night after SXSW when everyone had already left Austin. And then they serenaded us with their pop music.

Who are they? Well, one of the best pop outfits I’ve heard in recent years. Quiet Company is led by Taylor Muse their latest album Everyone You Love With Be Happy Soon was one of my favorite releases of 2009 and is on repeat on my iTunes constantly.

If I remember, I believe they’re playing a lot of shows at SXSW this year, and I’ll definitely be at at least one of those. Maybe two.

Twitter: Quiet Company on Twitter
Download: Quiet Company- It’s Better to Spend Money Like There’s No Tomorrow Than Spend Tonight Like There’s No Money

We’re less than two weeks away from the South By Southwest Music/Film/Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. I’ll be there from March 12th-22nd for both the Interactive festival and the 5 amazing-non-stop music festival. I’ll be writing about all the shows I see along with lots of pictures from the week. We might even talk to some bands. As we get closer, each day I’ll be posting about a band that I’m looking forward to seeing at SXSW. And I’ll put up my usual playlist as well.

The great thing about being in Austin that week is that you’ll see a lot of bands that you wanted to and also discover a bunch of new bands whose records you’ll be playing all year long (and everyone else will too). Here is my short list of bands that I’m hoping to catch this year: Spoon, Surfer Blood, Those Darlins, Lovely Feathers, Pomogranates, Broken Social Scene, Delta Spirit, Quiet Company, The Rural Alberta Advantage, She & Him, Rogue Wave, Golden Filter, Neon Indian, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Suckers, Antlers, Real Estate, The XX, The Drums, Wave Machines, Wye Oak, Morning Benders, Local Natives, Bear in Heaven, Titus Andronicus and Brasstronaut just to name a few.

If that list looks as daunting to you as it does to me, then that’s good.