Fergus & Geronimo: getting in on the act

They are the accidental next big things. Andrew Savage and Jason Kelly probably thought that rock’n’roll fame and fortune would come their way via one of their other bands.

Fergus Geronimo? Hell, that was just a bit of a side project for the Denton, Texas duo while their other bands – Teenage Cool Kids and Wax Museums to namecheck just two – were sitting on their hands. And the name sure was better than Andrew and Jason.

But when the pair started producing tunes like the blazing Tell It (In My Ear), everthing changed. Since the start of this year, watercolour artist Savage and pre-school teacher Kelly have found themselves gathering plaudits and praise for their sunnysideup, soulful, fizzy, ramshackle garage-pop.

They’re still hanging out in other bands – Kelly is particularly promiscuous with membership of four acts to his name,­ but FG is the one demanding all their attention at present. There have already been three singles from the band, with the Tic Tac Totally, Transparent and Woodsist labels queueing up to get a slice of the action.

In a year when we’ve encountered plenty of fizzy pop from all over the U S of A, what’s interesting about FG is that they’re rocking out in a completely different place to their peers. Instead of more scuzzy, blissed-out surf-pop, the duo’s slow-burning, dazed soul will remind you of the likes of Van Morrison when he was moondancing or Simon Garfunkel at their most strummed-out. One to add to that list you know someone somewhere is currently compiling, of bands to watch in 2010. www.myspace.com/fergusgeronimo