La Bush Resistance

As the World's Fair of the music industry, the international exhibitions at SXSW bring breakthrough bands into Austin's back yard. This year's French roster looms over the remaining acts like the Eiffel Tower at the 1889 Exposition, despite some impressive showings from Holland, Israel, and Germany.

Cyann & Ben, a Paris-based quartet named for its two ethereal vocalists, launch minor explosions in the sky where the climactic bursts of color struggle against the gravitational pull of their bleak and atmospheric layers of sonic textures, enhancing the overall cataclysmic effect. The band's third LP, Sweet Beliefs, lights the fuse, then heads for the hills. The electronic convulsions of French artist Turzi, who's collaborated with RTX (ex-Royal Trux), come across like a mechanical breakdown marked by white flashes of krautrock and psychedelia. Similarly, the new album from Franco-American duo the Berg Sans Nipple, Along the Quai (Team Love), is a second-class package dropped and kicked by the Postal Service, meshing titillating electronics with pop melodies.

While in Greek folklore Dionysos is the son of Zeus, in France they're more like the bastard child of Tom Waits and Iggy Pop with a penchant for bizarre and ghoulish stadium anthems. The band's landmark Western Sous La Neige was produced by Steve Albini. Lady and Bird's Keren Ann splits her time and music between France and the States, combining the refined elegance of Paris with the big-city splendor of New York. The songstress' self-titled fifth album is due in May on Blue Note. And while you're at it, check out the reggae-infused hip-hop of Israel's Soulico.

A handful of Holland bands come in search of the pick of destiny. Noisy Amsterdam fourpiece Alamo Race Track merely revved their engines with 2003 debut Birds at Home. Their latest, BlackcatJohnBrown, yet to be released stateside, spills blood on the tracks with the shake 'n' bake of Silkworm and Jesus Lizard. Sex addicts and SXSW veterans Daan and Tjees of zZz thrust organ/drum rhythms like the Doors – cock first, rock second – with hits like "Ecstasy" and "House of Sin." On the softer side of things, singer-songwriter Joep Pelt is a proud student of the T-Model Ford and R.L. Burnside school of Delta blues, cleaning up the sound of Mississippi with his own acoustic coffeehouse tunes.

A remarkably rare find from the Netherlands, the gnarled and dark folk of Praise the Twilight Sparrow lurks in the backwoods of Magnolia Electric Co.'s Fading Trails, near where the creek drank the cradle. The unsigned trio, fronted by Pascal Hallibert of Templo Diez, purveys truth through bitter poetry that recalls Will Oldham and Smog.

Israel's output springs from the musical hotbed of Tel Aviv, but that's where the similarities between these bands end. Balkan Beat Box, the latest from Gogol Bordello and Firewater alums Ori Kaplan and Tamir Muskat, is a tenpiece capable of turning any party into a festival with its culturally fused dance rhythms. Worth noting, the gypsy punks' 2005 self-titled debut ends with Middle Eastern anthem "La Bush Resistance." A pastiche of the past, RockFour has time traveled through Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and the Beatles' psychedelia ever since switching from Hebrew to English with 2000's Supermarket. RockFour manager, organizational psychologist turned songwriter Anat Damon, pens introspective songs backed by the Time Flies. An Israel native and San Francisco transplant, Ayal Nistor is a one-man band guised as My Second Surprise. On Avoidance as a Way of Life, he pieces together acoustic pop and surf-inspired acid folk tunes.

Then comes the sickness. The thunderous stoner rock of Monotonix marches to the fuzz of Mudhoney and Kyuss; it's safe to assume there's a Fu Manchu involved. The bassless trio's impending debut was produced by Kramer who, judging from Monotonix's live shows, must have had a fire extinguisher handy in the studio, since the band delights in the Buttholian practice of setting their cymbals alight. Though the theatricality of Italy's Afterhours has been lost in translation for more than a decade, that might soon change with Dance for Small Hyenas, following the help of honorary member and producer Greg Dulli of Afghan Wings and Twilight Singers.

Going to Berlin to hear bluegrass is like ordering salsa from New York City, but Two Dollar Bash shows potential on debut On the Road. More appropriate for this occasion is the electrotrash of Peaches, who somehow continues to shock and confuse with her gender-bending antics on Impeach My Bush (XL).

Straight out of Portugal's discothèques, X-Wife and You Should Go Ahead both feed the machines with synth-punk that falls between DFA and Death From Above 1979. David Fonseca, former frontman of multiplatinum Portuguese rock group Silence 4, uses his Orbison-like croon to sharpen his keen pop sensibilities.

The electronic pop of Spain's Ana Laan can come across like the Latin sister of Thom Yorke's Eraser, but her more traditional leanings are best suited for compilations like Putumayo's Music From the Wine Lands. Elsewhere, Busty Duck bangs out a few pints' worth of bar rock from Belgium.

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As the World Spins

The Pinker Tones (Spain): Barcelona DJs Mr. Furia and Professor Manso start the Million Colour Revolution from the dance floor.

Kraak & Smaak (The Netherlands): Duo's soul-thumping debut, Boogie Angst, is funktastic.

C-Mon & Kypski (The Netherlands): Renowned scratch artists produce carnivalesque hip-hop that gets lost in Outkast's "Whole Wide World" with polka, samba, and dancehall grooves.

Puppetmastaz (Germany): Berlin's abandoned offspring of the Gorillaz and Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.

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Punk'd

The Creteens (France): American hardcore in Paris

Fancy (France): Unsigned fourpiece led by guitarist-mom sinks its claws into Joan Jett.

Beangrowers (Malta): Budding pop punk planted by singer and guitarist Alison Galea.

The Wild Eyes (South Africa): Minimalist trio from Cape Town taps equally on Wire and synths.

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EUROPE

Busty Duck (Brussels, Belgium) Parish II, Wed., 8pm; www.bustyduck.com

Keren Ann (Paris, France) Central Presbyterian Church, Fri., 11pm; www.myspace.com/kerenann

The Berg Sans Nipple (Paris, France) Elysium, Sat., 9pm; www.bergsansnipple.com

The Creteens (Paris, France) Redrum, Wed., 11pm; www.myspace.com/creteens

Cyann & Ben (Paris, France) Ale House, Wed., 11pm; www.everrecords.com/cyannandben

Dionysos (Valence, France) Lamberts, Wed., 10pm; www.dionyweb.com

Fancy (Paris, France) Maggie Mae's, Wed., 9pm; www.myspace.com/welovefancy

Jessica Fichot (Paris, France) Elephant Room, Thu., 11pm; www.jessicasongs.com/singer.html

Prototypes (Paris, France) Exodus, Sat., 12:05am; www.prototypesonline.com

Turzi (Paris, France) Bourbon Rocks, Thu., 9pm; www.myspace.com/turzi

Bird featuring Mark Burgess of the Chameleons (Hamburg, Germany) Elysium, Wed., 10:45pm; www.myspace.com/chameleonsvox

Peaches (Berlin, Germany) Exodus, Fri., 1am; www.peachesrocks.com

Puppetmastaz (Berlin, Germany) Latitude 30, Fri., 8pm; www.puppetmastaz.com

Two Dollar Bash (Berlin, Germany) Jovita's, Sat., 1am; www.twodollarbash.net

The Moog (Budapest, Hungary) Lamberts, Sat., 11pm; www.myspace.com/moogband

Afterhours (Milano, Italy) Whisky Bar, Fri., 8pm; www.afterhours.it

The Hormonauts (Cesena (FC), Italy) Latitude 30, Thu., 8pm; www.thehormonauts.com

Beangrowers (St. Julians, Malta) Light Bar, Thu., 9pm; www.myspace.com/beangrowers

David Fonseca (Lisbon, Portugal) Spiro's, Wed., 9pm; www.davidfonseca.com

X-Wife (Porto, Portugal) Friends, Wed., 9pm; www.x-wiferocks.com

You Should Go Ahead (Lisbon, Portugal) Molotov Lounge, Thu., 9pm; www.youshouldgoahead.com

Dislike (Ufa, Russia) Maggie Mae's Rooftop, Sat., 8pm; www.myspace.com/dislikeufa

Oleg Kireyev & Exotic Band (Moscow, Russia) Copa, Fri., 9:10pm; www.kireyev.ru

Ana Laan (Madrid, Spain) Visions, Thu., 8:30pm; www.nardismusic.com

The Pinker Tones (Barcelona, Spain) Karma Lounge, Sat., 12mid; www.thepinkertones.com

About (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Beauty Bar, Wed., 10pm; www.whataboutabout.com

After Forever (Reuver, Naetherlands) Maggie Mae's, Sat., 12:30am; www.afterforever.com

Alamo Race Track (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Soho Lounge, Fri., 9pm; www.alamoracetrack.com

C-Mon & Kypski (Utrecht, Netherlands) Copa, Thu., 1am; www.c-monandkypski.com

Kraak & Smaak (Leiden, Netherlands) Latitude 30, Fri., 12mid; www.kraaksmaak.com

Joep Pelt (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Copa, Wed., 9pm; www.joeppelt.net

Praise the Twilight Sparrow (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Momo's, Wed., 9pm; www.myspace.com/praisethetwilightsparrow

Zzz (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Latitude 30, Fri., 1am; www.soundofzzz.com

Mor Ve Otesi (Istanbul, Turkey) Red 7 Patio, Wed., 9pm; www.morveotesi.com

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ISRAEL

Balkan Beat Box (Tel Aviv, Israel) Habana Calle 6 Annex, Sat., TBA; www.balkanbeatbox.com

Monotonix (Tel Aviv, Israel) Flamingo Cantina, Fri., 9:25pm; www.monotonix.com

My Second Surprise (Tel Aviv, Israel) Mohawk, Sat., 8pm; www.mysecondsurprise.com

RockFour (Tel Aviv, Israel) Continental Club, Fri., 10pm; www.rockfour.com

Soulico (Tel Aviv, Israel) Habana Calle 6 Annex, Sat., TBA; www.myspace.com/soulicocrew

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SOUTH AFRICA

The Dirty Skirts (Cape Town, South Africa) Maggie Mae's, Wed., 8pm; www.thedirtyskirts.com

Harris Tweed (Johannesburg, South Africa) 18th Floor @ Hilton Garden, Wed., 9pm; www.harristweedmusic.com

Shawn Phillips (Port Elizabeth, South Africa) TBA; www.shawnphillips.com

The Wild Eyes (Cape Town, South Africa) B.D. Riley's, Fri., 8pm; www.thewildeyes.com