The SXSW factor

More than 2,000 bands converged on Austin, Texas for the annual SXSW festival; naturally, JIM CARROLLwas there to separate the merely great from the must-hear-nows. Here's his SXSW 2012 list

IT WAS BRUCE Springsteen who had the wisest advice of all for the thousands of new bands in Austin, Texas last week. “Rumble, young musicians, rumble,” the Boss told them at the end of a fascinating, rumbunctious, funny and heartening keynote speech during South By Southwest 2012.

Not that many of the acts needed Springsteen’s encouragement to rumble. Not, indeed, that many of the acts were probably around for Springsteen’s high-noon presentation. They were either in bed or playing yet another gig somewhere else around town.

For new acts and fans of new music alike, SXSW in March has become an annual pilgrimage. More than 2,000 bands from all points north, south, east and west descend on Austin for a musical jamboree that’s bigger, brasher and better than anything else on the planet.

But the new acts seeking to make a name for themselves are just part of the SXSW musical pie.

The festival’s huge success and profile means more established acts now arrive in town to grab some headlines and traction for themselves and their new album or tour. Thus you had secret and not-so-secret shows all week by such big-name acts as Springsteen, Jay-Z, Eminem, The Roots, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Nas, Erykah Badu, Rick Ross and others.

Competing with those marquee names for attention is difficult, yet the beauty of SXSW is that there is room for all. Not everyone can get to see Jay-Z shilling for a credit card company in a 2,000-capacity venue, for instance, but those who don’t get in can go off to find other bands to check out. It works, after a fashion: we’ve yet to hear of any band who played a SXSW show to absolutely no one.

A noticeable aspect of this year’s event was that it featured a lot of repeat bookings from 2011, which is an indication and acknowledgement of the fact that it takes time for a new band to develop. It also meant that those of us who’d raved about acts like Grimes, Oberhofer and Reptar last year could say “I told you so”. We’ll hopefully be saying the same thing about many of the names on our list in 2013.

20 BEST NEW ACTS AT SXSW

ALABAMA SHAKES

Wherever they played, from the convention centre stage to the patio of a downtown bakery, Alabama Shakes drew the masses like no one else on the showcasing circuit. Brittany Howard and her band were SXSW 2012's breakout stars by a long chalk, showing that there's a huge appetite out there for brilliant retro soul-rock with plenty of emotional depth. Make sure you catch them when they play the Kilkenny Roots Festival in May. alabamashakes.com

NO

From LA's Echo Park, the band with the almost unGooglable name shone brightly with widescreen big music, anthemic pop tunes (such as the brilliant Stay With Me), muscular harmonies and a frontman with a striking baritone voice in New Zealander Bradley Carter. nomusicfor.me

HAIM

Another LA act who turned up on our radar in Austin, Haim are three sisters mining a really alluring mix of rock, pop and old-fashioned r'n'b. Live, prepare to be hooked on the sparkling harmonies and infectious grooves of tunes such as Forever. haimtheband.com

MATT CORBY

Don't let the Australian Idol background put you off this dude. Corby silenced everyone in the pews at St David's Historic Sanctuary with his extraordinary voice (reminiscent of Jeff Buckley's stunning somersaults in places), some dextrous use
of loops and tough-but-tender songs such as Brother. He only played one show at SXSW, but it was enough to generate a huge buzz. mattcorby.com.au

POLIÇA

There's a good chance that this Minneapolis crew are about to become many people's favourite new band with two drummers. Fronted by Channy Casselle and featuring musicians who've done time with Gayngs and Bon Iver, Poliça will win you over with sparkling, dynamic, thumping, arrested (honk!) electronic-pop tunes with lashings of emotional heart and soul. thisispolica.com

TRUST

From Toronto and part of the Arts Crafts cabal, Trust are all about dramatic, moody, cold-as-ice synth-rock, but they don't forget that you also need tunes as well as textures. We reckon they'd look just swell on a bill opening for Factory Floor and New Order. ttrustt.com

WILD BELLE

Chicago brother and sister Natalie and Elliot Bergman hit the new music radar a few weeks ago with Keep You; that brass-powered, breezy, dubby synth-pop nugget ensured lots of interest ahead of their SXSW shows. There's plenty more where that comes from, with the siblings and their band calmly showing off more sultry, sophisticated tunes such as Twisted. facebook.com/wildbelle

BAHAMAS

The best act we saw at SXSW 2012 sporting a stetson, Bahamas is Afie Jurvanen, a dude who has worked as a musician for Feist, as well as others, but is now striking out on his own. Expect big love galore for his breezy, tropical, country-dipped pop, which comes with added live oomph from a duo of backing singers. bahamasmusic.net

OF MONSTERS AND MEN

Hailing from Iceland, Of Monsters And Men arrived in town with enough anthemic, uplifting, folky-pop choruses for everyone in the audience – and their favourite Republican would-be presidential candidate. With a sound that's very much of the moment – one part Mumford Sons to two parts Arcade Fire – expect to hear a lot of babble about them and their debut album, My Head Is An Animal, in coming months. facebook.com/ofmonstersandmen

YOUNG MAGIC

Playing tunes from their woozy, lovable Melt debut album, Australians-in-Brooklyn Young Magic's set was all about amplifying the details in their hypnotic psych-rock. Here's a band who can go all the way from ethereal to majestic and not lose the plot on the trip. One for those yearning for a new Animal Collective record. facebook.com/youngmagicsounds

THE MEN

It was always on the cards that The Men would shine at SXSW seeing as their two albums to date, Leave Home and the newly released Open Your Heart, contain some of the best thunderous rock heard in ages. They delivered a set which was akin to having a rake of your favourite hardcore and punk rock bands going buckwild right in front of your eyes. Megahit! wearethemen.blogspot.com

TRASH TALK

A string of explosive live shows all week ensures Sacramento hardcore bravehearts Trash Talk make this and many other post-SXSW lists. The band who came the the nearest to matching last year's Odd Future frenzy, TT's live shows were searing, fierce, unhinged occasions tailormade for mass moshing, punk-rock fever and relentless onstage energy. trashtalkhc.com

FUN

The band with the biggest tune in the US right now may be unknown on this side of the Atlantic but that, no doubt, will change. We Are Young is a good indication of Fun's extravagant, lush, stomping, uplifting pop style, a tune with both indie and radio-friendly leanings. Coming soon to a station near you. ournameisfun.com

DANNY BROWN

It was a great year for hip-hop at SXSW, and Detroit's Danny Brown led the way with a wicked, demented lyrical turn and an all-action performance which was unhindered by onstage technical problems. It was to be a bit of a theme at the festival for the man with the silver tongue: Brown was pelted with a lemon at another show, but carried on regardless. twitter.com/xdannyxbrownx

FRIENDS

Only the most grumpy curmudgeons could fail to be moved by Friends' gleeful dance party. The Brooklyn band channel some of pop's brightest vibes –­ Madonna when she was decent, Lykke Li and Beyoncé – on songs such as Friend Crush and I'm His Girl, and are blessed by a brilliant frontwoman in Samantha Urbani. afriendszone.com

PUJOL

From Nashville, Tennessee, Dan Pujol and his fellow rakes know that garage rock always rules OK, especially when you have an anthem like Mayday in your possession. They threw that one out pretty fast at the show we caught – Pujol were running around all week like blue-arsed flies playing gigs everywhere you looked – and added a couple of other similarly stoked gems. facebook.com/pujoldotcom

JONATHAN WILSON

There was something very apt about seeing Jonathan Wilson playing at a hippie flea-market out on South Congress. Wilson's Gentle Spirit album from last year really sounds as if it was made back in the day when Laurel Canyon folky rock and pop was the sound of the day. A beautiful, hazy musical trip back in time from the man playing Electric Picnic in September. songsofjonathanwilson.com

KENDRICK LAMAR

Kendrick Lamar showed that he really is the new US west-coast thriller with a run of slamming shows. Lamar's stock-in-trade is tough, gritty, intense hard-knock life rhymes delivered with savvy, killer beats. The businessmen certainly agree with Lamar's next big thing credentials: Aftermath/Interscope signed a pre-SXSW deal with him. topdawgmusic.com

SAVOIR ADORE

Modern super-sweet electronic pop music with a couple of tricked-out twists and turns was what had folks twisting and shouting at Savoir Adore's Austin shows. The band have been mentioned in despatches before, but there was much evidence here that they're ready for a close-up. savoiradore.com

LEE FIELDS

The sight of the mighty Lee Fields at large in a backyard party out in east Austin was a heart-warming one. A singer who had a run of cult hits in the 1970s but never got his dues, Fields is now very much in the frame, thanks to a hook-up up with Truth Soul Records and a new audience for his raw funk and soulful holler. truthandsoulrecords.com/lee-fields