Born in the USA...

OK, here are some American bands you should check out if you have 15 minutes:

Crystal Stilts - i heard their album in the UK before we went out, and i wasn't particularly interested, it was all very Jesus & Mary Chain without any added twist. Then i saw them live. They blew me away. Very New York Cool, they tick all the boxes: Paul Simon lookalike on bass, Art Garfunkel lookalike on vocals, cool bespectacled guitarist, female drummer, Beach Boy keyboardist. Will give the album a second chance having seen them live. Here's the end of their set:

Other Lives - our label mates on TBD Records in the States, and sadly didn't get a chance to see them live whilst there, but very much looking forward to hearing their debut album which came out a few weeks ago. Have heard their EP, think melancholy, ballad driven, American folk / indie, from Oklahoma. Nice guys too.


The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - again, i actually missed them at SXSW, but their debut album is fantastic. American Indie Pop with a very British hint of shoegaze, at times even Britpop. New Yorkers.

No Age - had never heard of them before but came recommended from a number of Americans. From Los Angeles, just a drummer and guitarist, they give off such energy i couldn't help but enjoy their ramshackle set. Catchy rhythms, strong guitars, energy in abundance, fat men crowd surfing, power cuts, what more do you want from a set?

Crystal Antlers - again, had never heard of them before, but great live set. Classic wall of sound with melody hidden somewhere within. Think Warlocks and Nirvana with an organ and a Bez type character playing percussion. They hail from Long Beach, California, which in my books sounds like the best location ever.



Black Lips - they played before us on the outside stage at Stubbs, and have listened more intently to their album Good Bad Not Evil since being back, great angular US pop grunge. If that exists? It does now. They have a song titled 'How Do You Tell A Child That Someone Has Died'.

Army Navy - their bassist had a hand in our record deal out there, and only caught their acoustic set on the opening day, but myspace tracks lean towards a very poppy American indie sound. I'm thinking Beach Boys with a hint of Squeeze (is that a pop overload?). Listen to Get Right Back on their myspace. Would love to hear their album in full.

Some other things i saw whilst out there:

Graham Coxon acoustic set in a tent - couldn't fault his awkwardness. Here's a very short snippet:

Primal Scream in a small alleyway - they haven't lost it yet, even though they look like the house band from Fraggle Rock.

Juliette Lewis & the New Romantiques - fun, but shit.

Slow Club - from the UK, great stripped back anthemic indie soul pop (does that exist? It does now).

Finally, this has nothing to do with SXSW, but you can't beat this for rock posturing: