SXSW Wednesday International Bands

Losing My Religion

by Margaret Moser

Choir of Young Believers (Wed., 9:45pm, Club de Ville)

Danish indie rockers invoke the Eighties with the sometimes lush, sometimes spare Euro-synth sound that got them voted Best New Act at the 2009 Danish Music Awards.

Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band (Wed., 11:45pm, Lamberts)

Devine's "Off-Screen" video backs up the New York-based sextet's comparison to Matthew Sweet and his love for searing, guitar-fueled indie rock.

Dirty Karma (Fri., 7:30pm, Friends)

Warp magazine does a little time warp and beams up from Mexico City a quartet of young alt.rockers in love with Seventies muscle rock.

Eden Brent (Sat., 12mid, 18th Floor at Hilton Garden Inn)

Eden Brent was one of the few chosen to play farewell tribute to the mighty Pinetop Perkins, and that says volumes about the Mississippi pianist's talent for boogie-woogie.

Hellbound Glory (Fri., 9pm, Saxon Pub)

Sandwiched between Chip Taylor and Ray Wylie Hubbard and followed by Billy Joe Shaver, Hellbound Glory bible-thumps its leathery Americana all the way from Reno, Nev., to the South by Southwest choir.

Jerusalem & the Starbaskets (Wed., 9pm, the Whiskey Room)

Expansive neo-psych from Memphis, Tenn., with occasional twang.

The Jesus & Mary Chain (Thu., 12mid, the Belmont)

Recall the brotherly Scottish duo who invoked the Velvet Underground for the Eighties and took it further into a dense wall of sonic sound missed since their 1999 breakup.

Oh Mercy (Wed., 10pm, the Studio by HGTV)

Oh Mercy boomerangs from Melbourne, Australia, with engaging, songwriter-heavy indie pop courtesy of its recent recording, Great Barrier Grief.

Witchburn (Wed., 12mid, Headhunters Patio)

Vintage metal crunch meets bombastic modern rock with enough dirty volume and percussive punch to roll out the steel carpet for this two-man, two-woman Seattle foursome.

Zeus (Fri., 10pm, 512 Rooftop; Sat., 10pm, Lustre Pearl)

Canada minted this Toronto quartet with bright pop-rock that hearkens to Sixties radio.

Zola Jesus (Wed., 11pm, Elysium)

Rural Wisconsin seems an odd place for electronic experimentation, but never mind the cheeseheads; Zola Jesus is here with her pulsing, Teutonic-edged rhythms.

Out of Africa, Part I

by Michael Toland

Baloji (Thu., 10:30pm, Copa)

Born in the Congo, raised in Belgium, rapper/musician Baloji comes across as K'Naan in French on his latest, Kinshasa Succursale.

Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang (Fri., 8pm, Speakeasy)

Sierra Leone native Nabay electrified, synthesized, and then imported his country's ancient folk to Brooklyn, recruiting members of Gang Gang Dance and Skeletons.

Debo Band (Fri., 9pm, Red 7; Fri., 11:15pm, Speakeasy)

Though its origins lie in Boston, Debo Band puts its own spin on Ethiopian pop music by incorporating Eastern European horn charts and American funk rhythms. Sub Pop bow in July.

Spoek Mathambo (Fri., 12mid, Red 7; Thu., 8:30pm, Copa)

Johannesburg, South Africa's Mathambo is an electro quadruple threat: singing, rapping, producing, and DJing his way into Afro-pop futurism and a multi-album deal with Sub Pop beginning with the new Father Creeper. Listen for a cover of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control."

En Français

by Dan Oko

BeatauCue (Fri., 1am, Malverde)

Aptly named, Diplo-approved, beat-happy electronics from Caen.

Hindi Zahra (Wed., 11pm, Mohawk; Fri., 12mid, Copa; Sat., 10:40pm, the Stage on Sixth)

If Norah Jones had grown up in the North African desert, she might sound like this Morocco-born chanteuse. Zahra straddles French, English, and Berber dialects on her 2010 international debut Handmade (EMI/Blue Note).

Gush (Wed., 9pm, Mohawk)

The Parisian answer to Kings of Leon, featuring two brothers and two cousins looking to Laurel Canyon and beyond as the band completes its sophomore LP.

The Two (Wed., 9pm, Mohawk)

Guitar-happy duo featuring David Jarre (son of composer Jean Michel) and painter-singer Ara Starck. Eponymous debut now on iTunes.

Housse De Racket (Wed., 9:30pm, Mohawk Patio; Fri., 10pm, Malaverde)

Synth-happy team Pierre Leroux and Vicotor Le Masne work with Air and Phoenix.

Mars Red Sky (Wed., 7pm, B.D. Riley's)

Wicked heavy Seventies-style sludge trio, part-Sabbath, part Meat Puppets.

Magnetix (Wed., 9:40pm, Beauty Bar)

Straight out of a Bordeaux garage, dirty rockers kick out Kinks-worthy jams.

Toguna (Sat., 12mid, Flamingo Cantina)

From Reunion Island, a remote French territory in the Indian Ocean, Toguna plays righteous reggae – in English. Last fall's In Colors was recorded in London.

We Were Evergreen (Fri., 11pm, St. David's Bethell Hall)

From Paris, based in London, making the most of twee-pop harmonies and nursery rhymes.

Yelle DJs (Wed., 11:30pm, Mohawk Patio)

Electronic infusions for inquiring minds, a breakout at Coachella 2011.

Zenzile (Thu., 8pm, the Loft)

Thirteen years after forming in Angers, with seven albums to its name, and another due, Zenzile still rocks the casbah with a potent blend of dub, folk, and hard rock.

Good Enuf 2 Eat?

by Melanie Haupt

Candy Claws (Fri,. 12mid, the Tap Room at Six)

Ryan Hover and Kay Bertholf released Hidden Lands in 2010; think Midsummer Night's Dream-ing Colorado-style with theremins and Moogs.

Loquat (Fri., 10pm, Maggie Mae's)

Tart, juicy, mom rock outta S.F. minus the unflattering jeans. Frontwoman Kylee Swenson Gordon wrote and recorded the quintet's forthcoming release, We Could Be Arsonists (Nacional), while pregnant with her son.

MilkDrive (Wed., 9pm, Victorian Room at the Driskill)

Austin quartet will leave bluegrass stains on your best jeans.

Pomegranates (Wed., 11:30pm, Trinity Hall)

We'd move to the underworld if it had this Cincinnati hipster-bop as the soundtrack.

Tea Leaf Green (Fri., 1am, the Tap Room at Six)

If the Dandy Warhols and Skynyrd had a baby, it would sound like this S.F. quartet's seventh album, Radio Tragedy!.

Turbo Fruits (Wed., 9:50pm, Beauty Bar Backyard)

Nashville, Tenn.-based guitarist Jonas Stein's post-Be Your Own Pet project.

Whiskey Shivers (Fri., 1am, Maggie Mae's Gibson Room)

Moonshine and corn pone here in Austin? This barefoot quartet could be the house band.

Colombia Clique

by Thomas Fawcett

Bomba Estereo (Wed., 12mid, Red 7 Patio; Fri., 10:30pm, ACL Live at the Moody Theater; Sat., 4pm, Auditorium Shores Stage)

Cumbia on steroids. Boom goes the dynamite.

Duran (Wed., 12mid, Soho Lounge; Thu., 11pm, Speakeasy)

Juan Pablo Durán throws hip-hop, cumbia, and dancehall in a blender and dubs the musical cocktail "chirripop."

Juanes (Fri., 11:30pm, ACL Live at the Moody Theater)

Remove those red, white, and blue blinders and you'll see that rock crooner Juanes is one of the globe's biggest pop stars.

Bambarabanda (Thu., 9pm, Speakeasy; Sat., 11pm, Copa)

Freak-show soundtrack of the Andean highlands with a dash of hip-hop, punk, and polka.

Quantic (Thu., 10pm, Speakeasy)

While not a Colombian native, British DJ, producer, and all-around musical badass Will Holland now calls Cali home as he shape-shifts among jazz, hip-hop, cumbia, and deep soul.

Mr. Bleat (Thu., 10pm, Buca Lounge)

With recent releases Mr. Disco and Señor Bleat, this Medellin electro-pop quartet has mastered the art of the album title.

Il Abanico (Thu., 9pm, Flamingo Cantina)

L.A.-by-way-of-Bogotá indie upstarts rock rays of sunshine with whimsy for days.

Canalón de Timbiquí (Thu., 12mid, Speakeasy)

Folkloric ensemble celebrates the Afro-Colombian sounds of Timbiquí, a small rural town on the Pacific coast.

Monsieur Periné (Fri., 8pm, Maggie Mae's; Thu., 1am, Speakeasy; Wed., 2pm, Radio Day Stage, Austin Convention Center)

Young Bogotá collective playing jazzy classic grooves with sophisticated swing.

Ancestros (Sat., 12mid, Copa)

From the root to the fruit, jazzy marimba funk inspired by the Afro-Colombian rhythms of the Pacific coast.

Panorama (Sat., 11pm, Bar 96)

Midtempo electro-grooves will have you shoegazing en Español.

Out of Africa, Part II

by Greg Beets

The Parlotones (Wed., 1am, the Loft)

Johannesburg, South Africa, quartet beamed its lush, dramatic alt.rock to more than a billion people at the opening ceremony for last year's World Cup.

Just a Band (Thu., 11:30pm, Copa; Fri., 9:15pm, Barbarella Patio)

Self-described DIY nerd trio from Nairobi, Kenya, delivers dance-floor electro-funk.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Thu., 12:30am, Copa)

Son of Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti alongside musicians from his father's band.

2Face (Fri., 1am, Beso Cantina)

Jos, Nigeria, native and 2010 MTV African Music Awards Artist of the Year transformed into a smooth R&B crooner after emerging from hip-hop supergroup Plantashun Boyz.