Archie Bronson Outfit

By all accounts the new album should be taking shape by now, hence the SXSW nod. Back in the summer, DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy was apparently in the producer and mixer’s chair, and since it’s been a good three years since Derdang Derdang stomped and clanged and wailed its way onto our radar, I feel fairly safe in saying IT’S ABOUT FUCKING TIME. Always really liked the way they managed to sound all Nick Drake and Nick Cave at roughly the same time, menacing as giddyup, but with a hint of the 60s about them that I just can’t shift. Be interesting to see where Goldsworthy takes them, at the very least.

CHEW LiPS

This outfit are new to me, so you’ll forgive me for spilling my drink when the singer started up and sounded unnervingly like Ellis-Bextor. Crikey, that’ll make a mess. Since the teenagers I wave my walking stick at these days were all born in the damn 90s, I’d imagine that this extremely clean and uncluttered synth-pop sounds unbelievably futuristic. As opposed to sounding a bit like Saint Etienne, without the fuss. I’m not massively turned on by this sort of arched eyebrow, but if they give it some welly in the live show, I bet it’s fucking mental to take drugs to.

Giulia y los Tellarini

I won’t dwell on the merits of this Spanish swing outfit but instead will probably go on and on about how quietly, politely and cheerfully fucking unhinged they sound. Listening to Barcelona, for example, you get jaunty little rhythms straight from the speakeasy, muted trumpets and all, tottering along underneath Giulia’s mischievious vocal, when all of a sudden a theremin pops up, right at the end. It’s like being knifed by Stuart Little in a clown mask. Awesome. Unlike CHEW LiPS, I’d avoid the chemicals for this one though, it’d send you to the rubber room. I’ll be front row centre for this one though, sounds fantastic.

Japandroids

Surfing the scuzzbag lo-fi punk Dinosaur Jr / Superchunk sound wave, pulling off the same trick as (the also awesome) Japanther by writing songs that don’t even sound written, but have more pop in their little finger than ninety-seven Spice Girl sandwiches, I’m a huuge fan right now of this band. Managed to somehow miss them when they passed through Edinburgh to my eternal shame, but am drooling with pleasure to know that I’ll definitely be in the same town as them again relatively soon. They’re back in the UK in the New Year ahead of SXSW so I’ll try and catch up with them then, I guess. Either way, Post-Nothing was a stone cold knockout of a record, and there’ll be early money on this being one of the busiest, sweatiest and barking-est shows of the week. Really looking forward to it, can you tell?

The Hong Kong Blood Opera

You know how Hadouken! think that because they shout a bit and use guitars but – gasp! – also use drum machines and technology they are in some way upsetting to old people? Yeah, if they were Mexican like this lot, Britain might well have actually crumbled. Brilliantly disjointed, pounding, riffing, screaming, sung & rapped high energy lunacy that will sound so much like a fucking train in your head when live that you may – quite literally – die. Anyone who opens a track with “This is how we motherfucking roll / Making people go apeshit”, while sounding like a cross between Duran Duran, Iron Maiden, The Hives, early Beasties and that drunk Scottish tramp you know who shouts at aeroplanes have got to be worth a punt, right?

The Temper Trap

I’m always a bit wary of bands who end up with billboards for their album before I’ve even heard of them, so I may be a bit biased, but lots of chin-stroking musos who like going to see bands in stadiums that have been sponsored by wildly inappropriate outside businesses seem to be getting excited about this lot. Still, if they play the Aussie party, there’ll be the usual drunken scrum and they will probably sound awesome through all the beer, so it could all still work out ok.