THURSDAY PICKS
Termanology
12:30am, Malaia Upstairs Lawrence, Mass., rapper Termanology has worked with producers Pete Rock, DJ Premier, and Large Professor throughout his seven-year recording career, one that reached new heights last year on 1982, made with fellow Lawrence native Statik Selektah. In January, Termanology dropped Cameo King II, a mixtape doused in East Coast classicism, with features from Sean Price, Bun B, M.O.P, and Freeway. – Chase Hoffberger
We Are Augustine
9pm, Maggie Mae’s Rooftop Touched by tragedy (frontman Billy McCarthy’s brother killed himself, as did his mother), this sprawling, hard-rocking trio – which got its start as Pela – has a touch of Arcade Fire’s ambition and sweep. We Are Augustines played the Late Show With David Letterman last month, received raves for 2011 debut Raise Ye Sunken Ships with several songs focused on mental illness, and notched a coveted spot on Chimes of Freedom, covering Dylan’s “Mama, You Been on My Mind.”
– Dan Oko
Bass Drum of Death
9pm, the Parish Mississippi multi-instrumentalist John Barrett started Bass Drum of Death in 2008 as a one-man guitar/drum band while working at Fat Possum Records. Although Colin Sneed has since joined as a proper percussionist, the kick drum still drives this bus. The duo’s 2011 album, GB City, oozes hot, primal, rock energy in excess. – Greg Beets
Zona Tango
9:15pm, Elephant Room Veteran bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Pedro Menéndez has been pioneering the landscape of Latin jazz, electronic music, and modern tango since 2004, if not before. He returns to the scene of previous astounding South by Southwest performances with new work, the tracks from his self-produced Folklore Electronic. Sultry, smooth, and unlike anything you’re likely to hear beyond the streets of Buenos Aires, Brazil. – Dan Oko
Two Gallants
10pm, the Parish It’s been more than two years since Tyson Vogel and Adam Stephens unleashed their unbridled, caustic blend of lo-fi folk, and almost five more since their last release on Saddle Creek. Yet the San Francisco duo has dusted off its guitar/drums barrage with a slew of dates and new songs, reviving its dirt-soaked dirges of outcasts, deadbeats, and hopeless romantics with brittle harmonies and embittered stomps. – Doug Freeman
Curren$y
10:40pm, La Zona Rosa Curren$y has to be on the short list of most prolific stoners in rap. Following his June 2010 Rock-A-Fella debut Pilot Talk – a Ski Beatz production with beats the New Orleans native told The Village Voice sound like he’s falling out of an airplane but won’t end up dying – Curren$y dropped a sequel in November before prepping last June’s Weekend at Burnie’s. Eight-song Muscle Car Chronicles followed in February, with a third Pilot Talk already in the works. – Chase Hoffberger
CFCF
11pm, the Madison; Wed., 7:30pm, Barbarella Michael Silver’s CFCF project makes delightfully off-kilter dance music steeped in foggy, New Age hippieness; tranquilizing lounge; and flamboyant, old-school house. The Montreal native works in a deceptively peculiar place, but the hooks on 2009 breakout Continent are endlessly repeatable and woefully unhip in the best way possible. – Luke Winkie
Motopony
11pm, the Studio by HGTV Is it just random coincidence or something more profound that brings Motopony to town in the wake of Davy Jones’ funeral? When Motopony frontman Daniel Blue sings, “I am a seer, baby, I am a believer,” on “Seer” from the Seattle quartet’s eponymous 2011 debut, he means it. Sounding very Laurel Canyon introspective, Motopony’s still probably not gonna buy you a dog. – Marc Savlov
Class Actress
11pm, 512 Rooftop; Fri., 12mid, Buffalo Billiards Retro-chic, Brooklyn-based Class Actress is perfectly happy with the once-futuristic musical technologies of the early Eighties. Colorfully brittle synth blasts, robotically efficient vocals from the fashionable Elizabeth Harper, and a liberal dosage of hooks condense an epoch’s worth of highs into last year’s debut Rapprocher. Good way to make waves. – Luke Winkie
Grimes
11:30pm, Central Presbyterian Church; Fri., 11:30pm, Clive Bar Grimes, aka Claire Boucher, is the ultimate manic pixie, producing art and music with odd but entrancing twists. Her music floats around, held down only by intense and often dark beats, while her high-pitched, girlish voice snaps listeners to attention. Last month, 4AD put out Grimes’ third album, Visions, which was quickly accepted with press attention and acclaim. – Zoe Cordes Selbin
The Davies Cardinal Cosmos Mole Roadshow
12mid, Beale Street Tavern In 1994, Richard Davies and Eric Matthews released a lovingly crafted orchestral-pop album as Cardinal before embarking on solo careers. That self-titled LP didn’t sell a lot of copies, but it’s been worshipped by indie pop lovers ever since. The duo surprised fans this year by releasing a follow-up called Hymns and now performs its catalog live – something not done during the band’s original existence. – Michael Toland
RAC
12mid, the Madison; Fri., 11pm, Club de Ville What better way to resurface a former song-of-the-moment than a remix? RAC provides smart homages to the chicest songs on the indie airwaves, and after four years of mixing, it’s decided to take its creations live. The Portland, Ore., leg of the five-member group, André Allen Anjos and Karl Kling, represent RAC for the Austin crowd, spinning their own remixes. – Abby Johnston
R. Ring
12mid, Frank Alt-rock icon and Breeders lead guitarist Kelley Deal, Kim Deal’s sister, continues making indie rock, albeit of a more acoustic, ambient sort than the Ohioan’s previous outfits. Besides a newfound knitting addiction, she’s teamed lately with Mike Montgomery of Cincinnati post-punk trio Ampline, playing college town club dates. With a new Ampline disc in the works, the duo’s coy about whether this is a one-off. – Dan Oko
T.I.
12:15am, La Zona Rosa Released from prison on Sept. 29, 2011 after an 11-month sentence for violating probation, Atlanta boss T.I. got right back to work, dropping the streetwise I’m Flexin’ with Big K.R.I.T. a day later and getting papers in order for a follow-up to 2010’s No Mercy. That’ll come in the form of Trouble Man, T.I.’s eighth album, which is slated for a summer release. The ruler’s back. Better yet, the King.– Chase Hoffberger
Nadastrom
12:15am, Elysium Since inventing Moombahton, a style of house music that involves slowing down Dutch house to 120 beats per minute and infusing elements of reggaeton, the Washington, D.C.-born DJ duo of Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom relocated to Los Angeles and performed with such behemoths of dance and rave culture as Deadmau5, Bassnectar, and Major Lazer. Diplo recently picked up the duo for a Mad Decent record deal. – Chase Hoffberger
Nicolas Jaar
12:30am, Central Presbyterian Church For the 21st century, Nicolas Jaar arrived in a predictable way. The Brown University comparative literature student released a few EPs, owned an artsy-fartsy label, and had some interesting friends. That was before Space Is Only Noise emerged as the very unpredictable marquee title of 2011’s electronic generation. We’re watching him become a legend in real time.– Luke Winkie
Cloud Nothings
1am, 512 Rooftop; Fri., 1am, ND at 501 Studios Coming out of Cleveland, Cloud Nothings has been the talk of the scene since the January release of its third album, Attack on Memory. The band has long been a blog darling, but Pitchfork adoration and headlining shows have been building the Cloud Nothing empire. Its traditional and simple indie rock is reminiscent of bands like Pavement and Built To Spill. – Zoe Cordes Selbin
Night Beats
1am, the Belmont; Wed., 1am, Buffalo Billiards Birthed in Austin and finessed in Seattle, the Night Beats’ reverb-soaked garage rock is laced with the spirit of nascent mid-Sixties Texas psychedelia. “The Other Side” from the trio’s 2011 self-titled debut on Trouble in Mind is a seven-minute meditation on the eternal power of “You’re Gonna Miss Me” that’ll leave you reeling with a contact buzz. Credit guitarist/vocalist Danny Lee Blackwell’s perfectly cultivated tone for finding the golden road to infectious authenticity. – Greg Beets
THURSDAY SLEEPERS
Hey Chica!
9pm, Maggie Mae’s Guadalajara, Mexico’s Hey Chica! earns its exclamation point with warm and sweet vocals riding atop ethereal guitar pop. The quartet’s 2011 debut LP, Lo Que Nadie Ve, is all about the slow build, with the sizzling fuzz frenzy of “Mental Space” or the lone trumpet punctuating the climax of “Hasta el Final.” Hey Chica! keeps the instrumentation interesting enough to transcend mere 4AD devotion. – Greg Beets
Elle King
8pm, Creekside at Hilton Garden Inn; Fri., 10:40pm, Stubb’s When Elle King moans “Good To Be a Man” in her trembling nasal twang, sparse banjo licking into a dramatic and percussive flourish, it’s the sound of an immense raw talent finding her voice and conviction. Rootsy but punk, smart but playful, the Brooklyn singer’s unofficially released material has garnered acclaim online, heralding powerful vocals deployed with effective restraint and a sharp lyrical sense that distills an emotional essence. – Doug Freeman
Wild Moccasins
8pm, TenOak This affable indie-pop troupe from Houston combines sticky melodies, irresistible boy/girl vocals, and an all-around feel-good aesthetic that makes for packed houses in its hometown. The quintet’s full-length debut, Skin Collision Past, found an unlikely new home last year when it was re-released on the Americana-leaning New West label. – Greg Beets
Benjamin Francis Leftwich
9pm, Latitude 30 Following two lauded EPs, including last year’s Pictures, UK singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich delivered debut LP Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm and found instant regard among the new breed of folk purveyors in the wake of Bon Iver. Leftwich’s gently spun narratives float in a melancholic air that harmonizes with Elliott Smith’s emotional pop pull. – Doug Freeman
Bambarabanda
9pm, Speakeasy; Sat., 11pm, Copa This Colombian band won’t be easily mistaken for anyone else, even during a festival as complicated and colorful as South by Southwest. The ninepiece outfit utilizes costume and assorted visuals during performances and boasts a range of musical styles that incorporates everything from funk to polka and its hometown kapishka. Nine years active before releasing a debut, this is a band whose approach is if nothing else, part of a very grand design.– Adam Schragin
Guards
9pm, ND at 501 Studios; Sat., 11:45pm, Chevrolet Sound Garage Like his sister’s success with the band Cults, Guards (and Willoz) founder Richie Follin understands how to take a pop song’s essence and contort it with just enough edge and scruff. Introduced by a 2010 seven-song EP, Guards throttled a peculiar pop bliss that situates alongside Ariel Pink, MGMT, Best Coast, or Girls. The Brooklyn quartet’s recently released 7-inch, “Do It Again,” surges with upbeat lo-fi kicks.– Doug Freeman
Shakey Graves
10pm, the White Horse A railroad revivalist with a handmade suitcase kick drum full of songs, Shakey Graves is the latest entrant to Austin’s venerable stable of one-man bands. Fiery picker and drifting romantic, the former Friday Night Lights actor Alejandro Rose-Garcia played every instrument on his self-released debut, last year’s Roll the Bones, dusty neo-traditionals and lo-fi indie folk. – Austin Powell
Palomar
10pm, Frank Imagine if Throwing Muses had grown old together. Three gals and a guy have held this indie outfit together for a dozen years, only now, the women are moms, and the lyrics and compositions of this Brooklyn-based ensemble are more sophisticated than ever on fifth LP Sense & Antisense (Misra). Harmonic and still occasionally hard rocking, Palomar has yet to outgrow the dream. – Dan Oko
A.Dd+
10:25pm, Kiss & Fly A.Dd+ mixtape When Pigs Fly was one of the most thoroughly slept-on hip-hop releases of last year, with Dallas street poets Slim Gravy and Paris Pershun spitting game over the funky, blunted canvases cooked up by Picnictyme, a collaborator in Erykah Badu’s Cannabinoid experiment. The duo recently teamed with Detroit producer Black Milk on “Insomniac Dreaming.” – Thomas Fawcett
Cheap Girls
11pm, TenOak Brothers Ian and Ben Graham and best pal Adam Aymor blend the familiar sounds of Nineties rock and pop punk with honesty and choice taste. The trio from Lansing, Mich., has been on a steady rise since 2008’s Find Me a Drink Home and just released a Tom Gabel-produced Rise Records debut Giant Orange, which might sell so well people start calling them the Golden Girls. What, that’s already taken? – Kevin Curtin
Yacht
11pm, Lustre Pearl; Fri., 12:30am, Clive Bar Hailing from Marfa (whiffs of its debut, See Mystery Lights), Los Angeles (smells like its latest, Shangri-La), and Portland, Ore. (let’s namecheck LCD Soundsystem and Holy Ghost! for fun), this geographically diverse collective of artsy-fartsy smarty-pants is sure at home with its Akai MPK25 Minis. “Young Americans Challenging High Technology,” indeed. – Kate X Messer
Plants and Animals
11:30pm, St. David’s Historic Sanctuary; Sat., 2pm, Radio Day Stage, Austin Convention Center; Sat., 1am, Spill Its unfairly panned sophomore album, La La Land, was a brilliant slab misread by kiddie critics. For every goofball pinning unrealistic Grizzly Bear comparisons onto this Montreal trio, there are 10 adults who’d dig the Seventies production and commentary on American excess that would make Jay Ferguson (from his days in Spirit, through his delightful Top 40 cheese) proud. Canadians are often more subtle than your average bear.
– Kate X Messer
White Mystery
12:30am, Headhunters Patio The difference between last year’s Blood & Venom and Chicago siblings White Mystery’s eponymous debut a year before? A little more low end. The foundation for the duo, however, a torrential downpour of overblown garage rock, remains intact. This is early White Stripes with the roles reversed: guitar and drums with sister Alex White howling like a caged beast. – Chase Hoffberger
Guns of Navarone
1am, Saxon Pub Among the recent batch of alt.country revival bands in Austin, Guns of Navarone already released the album to beat. On last year’s debut, Prize and Battlefield, the youthful foursome cozies up nicely between the Long Ryders and the Old 97’s, with a twist of goth making it all the more interesting. Ringing guitars, big hooks, and stout harmonies. – Jim Caligiuri
Seryn
1am, Frank Seryn quietly self-released one of the finest debut albums of last year, We Will All Be Changed, which harvests indie folk somewhere between Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues and the choppy, layered pop of Local Natives. But the Denton quintet boasts a rootsier resolve than its contemporaries, swelling with seasoned arrangements for upright bass and violin. If the band’s billing atop Misra Records’ showcase is any indication, expect Seryn to break nationally soon. – Austin Powell
This article appears in March 16 • 2012.