So just landed and  getting set for what most definitely will be the best SXSW so far for DirtyBoots, We are back at the Wave bar but this time we have 3 special parties planned with fantastic acts lined up and some great surprises in store.

Over the next week or so I will be updating you with all my SXSW news including highlights and tips of this years festival, plus full reviews on all bands playing the Dirty Boots stage, photo’s and video footage.

Until then check below for a little run through of the Launch party so you can check them out before the reviews go up…

Crystal Fighters

Opening our launch party are Crystal Fighters whose full on Electro set and party vibe should surely kick it all off perfectly and put everyone in the mood for a day of great music… ‘The Single most exciting dance act around at the moment” NME

Crookes

Then onto something very different as Crystal Fighters will be followed by Dirty Boots favorites the Crookes whose music imagines a sound close to that of Morrissey and orange juice if they were making music in the 1950’s..

Mon Khmer

Next up are Mon Khmer, one of my favorite finds in the build up to SXSW, hailing from Brooklyn NY but actually sounding more like they are from Salford, Manchester…check them out and let me know what you think.

Broken Records

Broken records are next to take the stage and if last years DB glasto performance is anything to go by their lush orchestral epics will have the crowd in the palm of their hands.

Lissie

Last up we have the fantastic Lissie who’s voice has been likened to Stevie Nicks on numerous occasions and I for one can see why, with a mini album produced by the amazing Band of Horses already under her belt and a string of London shows lined up after her SXSW tour, be sure to check her out as I definitely think she is a start in the making…

Check back tomorrow for  info on the stage set up and more news on Lineups etc..

Sam x

Click on the image for full listings of all our SXSW Shows. See you at Wave Bar, 6th St… on the roof! DB x

Midlake ‘The Courage of Others’

Release date: 25^th January

We love this band and after the gorgeous ‘Trials of Van Occupanther‘ we felt that they dropped off the radar a little whilst paving the way for others including The Fleet Foxes… so the release of ‘ The Courage of Others’ nearly four years later has been far too long in the making.  Going by the tracks we have been lucky enough to hear, the wait has definitely worthwhile, we just hope the album lives up to expectations.

Vampire Weekend ‘Contra’

Release date: 11^th January

We have only played through this a couple of times and must admit it was not as instant as their self titles debut, but we do know people who have lived with the album a lot longer than us who are raving about it.  I love an album that gets better with each listen so keep checking for a full review later this month after heavy rotation.

Four Tet ‘There is Love in You’

Release date: 25^th January

Kieren Hebden has been a busy man of late but despite the fact he has helped record some great albums including last years hotly tipped XX LP and rumoured Burial collaborations, there has been no sign of a new Four Tet album… that is until now.  We can all look forward to another amazing album from one of the masters of Electronica. I have heard nothing yet but will be posting up videos and tracks as and when they come through.

Beach House ‘Teen Dream’

Release date: 25^th January

As you know we have already featured Beach House in our US tips for 2010 and once you hear Teen Dream and see them live I am sure you will be in complete agreement. Beach House have been honing their craft for a good few years now and all was worthwhile as they worked towards perfecting their sound for Teen Dream.  Like with Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective in 2009 I feel that Beach House have released their best LP so far.  You can be sure to see them high on the critics lists for 2010.

Erland and the Carnival ‘E&TC’

Release date: 25^th January

After a somewhat ramshackle show supporting ‘The Leisure Society’ in late 2009, my expectations for E & TC were not that high but this changed from the very first listen of their debut album.  Gentle psych guitar, haunting vocals and Hammond organ are awash throughout the album.  Add to this the experience of Simon Tong (Verve) and they have successfully updated the 60’s folk rock sound in the same way that the Coral updated psych and Garage on their debut.

Others to watch out for include:

Delphic ‘Acolyte’ Release date: 11^th January.  Heavily featured on the DB site so not a lot more to say at the moment but check back for a full review on release.

Spoon ‘Transference’ – Release date: 25^th January.  Back with their 7^th Album and going by last year’s ‘Ga Ga Ga’ they are still on fire.

Fools Gold ‘Fools Gold’ - Release date: 25^th January.  If you like Contra by Vampire Weekend then maybe give these guys a go as LA’s Fools Gold have definitely been listening to the same Paul Simon and Fela Kuti albums.

Delphic

We have already written about Delphic in the most favourable way possible so this one comes as no suprise to you we’re sure (and they feature in most people’s tip lists for 2010) so we could not do this list without mentioning them again.  Acolyte the album will be released next week so the music will get to people early in the year building up nicely for what I imagine will be some killer live shows over this summer’s festivals.

Everything Everything

Can’t really put these into any one category but one thing is for sure, they are definitely needed and are the best bet we can see for a band to bring the indie guitar scene out of the current rut in which it is stuck.   Never sounding predictable, and with influences from XTC, Of Montreal  to the more recent Field Music, this Manchester four piece are a breath of fresh air.

Ellie Goulding

Of all the new acts this year it looks like Ellie will be the most likely bet to cross over to the masses… and that is saying something in a market that is completely saturated with female singer songwriters!  Ellie’s work with Starsmith has a definitive fresh sound to it and with tracks like ‘Starry Eyed’ and ‘Under the Sheets’, Miss Goulding could well be the sound of the summer.

Chapel Club

Could be this years anthemic guitar band with hopefully a little more flare and charm than last year’s White Lies.  I have still not completely made up my mind on Chapel Cub but definitely see the potential in them so watch this space for future releases, reviews, etc…

Clock Opera

Guy Connelly has managed to seamlessly blend the electronica of Four Tet and with epic symphonic sounds of Elbow and with a voice that is not dissimilar to Mr Garvey himself , clock opera are a very exciting prospect for 2010.

Frankie and the Heartstrings

With a love of postcard records, all things eighties and Lo-Fi, Frankie and the Heartstrings could be the first of many bands in 2010 that draw inspiration from the legendary Scottish label.

Make sure you catch these in Jan as they are supporting the fantastic ‘Girls’.

Two Door Cinema Club

Their guitar led electro indie sounds like a ‘poppier’ Foals and I’m sure the Kitsune released debut will surprise a lot of people when released in March.  They come as a refreshing change in a time when a lot of guitar bands are taking themselves too seriously and believing their own hype.

TDCC have worked hard over the last couple of years and maybe 2010 is payback time.

Daisy Dares You

With Influences from Kurt Cobain to Karen O, Daisy’s Bubblegum Punk pop will be all over the airwaves next summer…Impressive stuff from an artist that got signed on the back of a demo she recorded when she was just 15.

A very sassy and talented young lady, you will be seeing more of her in 2010!

Marina and the Diamonds

In our minds, Marina is the closest rival to Ellie Goulding but we think there is definitely room for both of them in 2010.  With her flamboyant stage presence (which owes more than a nod to the legendary Kate Bush) and some great tracks including ‘Hollywood’  and ‘I am not a Robot’ 2010 could just be a year for Marina to be making waves.  (search out the gorgeous Clock Opera remix)

Sound of Guns

With anthemic guitar music being noticeably absent most of the radio stations last year, Sound of Guns could be the ones to change that throughout 2010 with their arsenal of epic indie anthems with  swagger and charisma to boot.   With Alcatraz coming out mid-Feb, an album to follow later in the year and a killer live show, Sound of Guns should be the ones to win over fans throughout the 2010 festival season.

Othello Woolf

A fantastic mix of old school soul and New York New Wave, Othello croons like David Byrne to a blue eyed soul soundtrack …also for lovers of Bowie , Reed and Roxy Music.Check out the fantastic ‘Stand’ to give you an idea.

Others to look out for from the UK include:  Lunar Youth, Kid Adrift, Luna Belle, Midnight Lion, Hurts, Monarchy, Devlin, Gold Panda, Sampha.

From the US we want to tell you about:

Beach House

Although Beach House are not a new band, the Baltimore Duo are already on their 3^rd album and like Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear before them it feels like with the release of ‘Teen Dream’ they are set to conquer the UK. Beach House tour in February so make sure that you catch them live before they are selling out much larger venues on their return to the UK later in the year…

Music Go Music

The Abba comparisons are undeniable but this is no bad thing as Music go Music show all the traits that made a nation fall in love with their Scandinavian mentors.  MGM started as a studio side project for Meredith and David Metcalf from Bodies of Water but soon blossomed into a full time band with live shows at last years CMJ.  ‘Light of Love’ is released early March and they have two London shows early Feb so again make sure you check these out.

The Drums

Everyone seems to be talking about this band and with such an eclectic sound we can see why.  They have so many influences in their music, it is rare to find a band that can effortlessly mix the sound of early Cure with lush Beach Boys harmonies.  Going by the amount that of exposure they have already had in the UK we see The Drums being the big USA breakthrough act of the year.

Rumspringa

So finally… How could we write our top tips and not include the band we have been championing for well over a year now.  Here’s a special mention for this lovely LA duo.  They deserve to be a big breakout act for 2010 and with an album being finished as we write, we are continually astounded how two people can make such beautiful music.  After two incredible UK tours in ‘09, this band have connected with UK audiences in a way that is totally unique simply because, they are one of the most unique bands we’ve had the fortune to see live numerous times.

Others to look out for include… Surfer Blood, Freelance Wales, Washed Out, Avett Brothers, Broken Bells, Zarrylade, Free Energy, Fun, Joshua James, Penguin Prison.

10. Richard Hawley – Truelove’s Gutter

Sheffield’s answer to Scott Walker records yet another classic album of gorgeous personal songs.  If you have heard any of  his previous albums you will know roughly what to expect but this is definitely not a bad thing.  Richard Hawley continues to make beautiful music for his ever growing group of admirers and it won’t be long before he is a British institution. A classic songwriter for the 2000’s.

09. Empire of the Sun – Walking on a Dream

You could tell from the last Sleepy Jackson album that Luke Steel was heading for something a little more adventurous… and he has certainly achieved that teaming up with Pnau’s Luke Littlemore for the Empire of the Sun album.  Once I got over the fact that the band looked ridiculous, the music soon won me over and with songs like ‘We are the People’ and ‘Walking on a Dream’.  It is an album that will stay on my stereo way into 2010.  Whilst people will continue to throw around the MGMT comparisons we like to think that EOTS were born from something a little more classic with influences ranging from Bowie to Roxy Music.

08. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Pheonix

We have always loved Phoenix and felt they should have been a band for the masses a long time ago with their cool Parisian pop songs.  They are now on their 4^th album and this could all be about to change as you hear tracks from ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ playing wherever you are.  The album has ended up in most critics list of 2009 and rightly so. The album kicks of with ‘1901’ and the already classic ‘Litzomania’ and, apart from an oddly placed instrumental in the middle, the entire album keeps momentum with great track after great track until the needle lifts at the end of  ‘Armistice’.

07. The Cribs – Ignore the Ignorant

In my mind this is The Cribs’ best album to date.  They have definitely gone for a bigger sound this time around with Gary Jarman sounding at his best with the recordings leaving space to hear every crack in his voice… just listen out for his best Cobain growl on the single ‘Cheat on me’.  You can hear his brother’s backing vocals plastered all over this album and notably the wonderful surprise new addition of the legendary Jonny Marr.  This distinctive guitar work fits perfectly, especially on ‘We were aborted‘ and the title track  ‘Ignore the Ignorant’.

06. Florence and the Machine – Lungs

From her early shows you could always tell that Florence would be a star but the worry was always: Would the album be any good? Luckily the answer is a resounding yes.  It is very good.  Jumping from style to style but always sounding like a complete album, Lungs just get better on every listen.  Early single  ‘Kiss with a Fist’ still sounds as bitter and stirring as ever and eases you into an album packed with killer tracks like ‘Dog Days’, ‘Rabbit Heart’, ‘Drumming’, ‘Hurricane Drunk’ and the now infamous cover of Candi Statton’s ‘You got the love’.  In a year where the album charts have been inundated with a new wave of female artists including La Roux, Little Boots and the like, Florence has definitely made the album that I will still find my turntable for years to come.

05. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Dirty Projectors main man and founder David Longstreth has spent years making great but frustrating wonky pop albums, but with vocalists Amber and Angel now at the forefront of the band for their sixth album Bitte Orca, the Dirty Projectors seem to have finally perfected the sound that the have been falling slightly short of on previous attempts. The group’s amazing array of harmonies and unusual arrangements work perfectly together and in parts Angel and Amber’s vocals would not be out of place on a 90’s R&B track.  This album is a complex listen and not to everyone’s taste but its definitely worth putting the time in.

04. Flaming Lips – Embyonic

We were very surprised when a lot of the blog sites started to hint at the Flaming Lips making a return to their darker roots, and were a little upset at the thought of anything that would not continue where ‘At War with the Mystics’ left off. That was until we heard ‘Embyonic’, a fantastic sprawling soundscape with bursts of feedback and off set instrumentation that excites, this album only added to our theory that Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips get better as the years go by. On first play ‘Embyonic’ may seem a little bit of a mess but stick with it & we guarantee something new and beautiful will jump out at you on every listen.

03 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

There is a thrilling buzz that runs through the YYY’s third album and from the opening rush of ‘Zero’ you are hooked.  A lot of fuss was made of the new disco direction but in truth ‘It’s Blitz’ sounds like the natural progression of a band on top form. YYY’s have always been a night time band that you can imagine playing in CBGB’s, but it is on ‘It’s Blitz’ you can imagine them playing Studio 54 and getting away with it.  Although most of the album is made for the floor it still has the emotional heart with tracks like ‘Skeleton’ and ‘Hysteric’ and so this is recognisably still the same band that recorded the beautiful ‘Maps’.  ‘It’s Blitz!’ is an album that can be dipped into at any time but unlike ‘Fever to Tell’ and ‘Show your Bones’ it also works perfectly as an album.

02. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest and Animal Collective – Merryweather Post Pavillion

Firstly we must explain why we have put both Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear in joint 2^nd position. This is because I have been a long term fan of both bands and although their previous albums were peppered with brilliance I felt that they both had classic albums around the corner. In 2009 both Veckatimest and Merryweather Post Pavilions were released, and these are simply two amazing albums that will surely open both bands up to a much wider audience in 2010.

Veckatimest - Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear’s third full-length is a beautiful album from start to finish and almost feels like one long choral suite that combines gorgeous harmonies and hooks, then nets them together with the delicate instrumentation to make up one of the years best albums.

Merriweather Post Pavilion has all the ecclecticism that has made me love Animal Collective over the years and their experimental melting pot throws in everything from psych pop, electronica, prog to Balearic house in perfect measures.  This makes this an album that seamlessly blends it all together and it dazzles on every listen.

Both albums deserve to be very high up this years  DB list but I hope you understand why I didn’t rate one higher than the other.

1. The Horrors – Primary Colours

The Horrors’ debut ‘Strange House’ was a ramshackle affair, clattering through dark garage sounds, but I for one was put off with the over stylised imagery and the tabloid fodder that followed the band around.  Something needed to change and thankfully it did, I knew from my first listen that Primary Colours would be on heavy rotation for a long long time.  ‘Mirror’s Image’ opens the album with twisted synths and guitars that instantly bring My Bloody Valentine to mind and in a time when we are all still waiting for Mr Shields to put something to tape, this is no bad thing.

I could go on name checking influences from Krautrock through to the Cure but the main point is that the album sounds of a different time but still manages to sound completely new and refreshing in 2009. Portishead’s Geoff Barrows is to be thanked for this as his production perfectly compliments the band without taking over their sound.  For a band to grow so impressively from first to second album is a mighty achievement (especially when nowadays bands are not usually given the opportunity if the first album does not sell).  Who knows where the Horrors will go next but I for one am very excited and hope that Geoff Barrows is still along for the ride.

That’s all from us but here are a list of those that almost made it..

Madness – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate
Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx
The Dead Weather – Horehound
Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
Noah And The Whale – The First Days Of Spring
The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Monsters Of Folk – Monsters Of Folk
Devendra Banhart – What Will We Be
Doves – Kingdom Of Rust

We have been avidly tracking the brilliant, bold and wonderfully talented duo that are our very own uniquely individual Rumspringa while they have been finishing off their first album over there in California and found this lovely little update so thought we would post it up here so you can all see what they have been up to.  Enjoy!

December 14, 5:56 PMLA Live Music ExaminerStefhan Gordon writes:

Though not exactly new or unrecognized, having formed in 2006 at Cal Arts (and having toured the UK and played at SXSW in Austin, Texas), Rumspringa is a band certainly worthy of a much larger audience. In early 2010, with the release of their first full length LP by Cantora Records, their label, those larger audiences may very well materialize as Rumspringa’s unique blend of blues, rock, and looping guitars becomes better well known outside of Los Angeles.

Until then catching this two piece band comprised of Joey Stevens on guitar/vocals, and Itaru de La Vega banging away on the drums in a small venue like the  Unknown Theater this past last weekend of November (produced by Veritas Empire) is quite the cathartic experience befitting the band’s name Rumspringa (which literally translates to “run around” and was inspired by the documentary The Devil’s Playground depicting the period when Amish teenagers get to run around and experiment before officially becoming adult members in the Amish community).

Rather than run though, Rumspringa’s audiences are gyrating, and moving especially to the balanced heavy drum beats, open tunings and the layered multiple looping guitars. With its low stage, the Unknown Theater show was especially conducive to the audience’s participation. The audience was up on the stage apron and several were beating along with tambourines. The beat was so compelling and almost primal that even the funkiest white boys were moving as though possessed.

Itaru, with his long hair, plays the drums like a cookie monster in a cookie factory, all intensity and passion, fully and completely into his performance. Whereas the clean cut Joey picks away at his guitar strings with a kool precision. The juxtaposing of these two elements along with the layered looped guitar tracks along with Joey’s vocals creates a sound that’s hard to label. Though the comparisons are many to bands likes The Black Keyes, and White Stripes, these comparisons really fall short, and seem more to do with a need to label than any accurate depiction of Rumspringa’s sound. The influences though are many from Hendrix to Cream, Canned Heat, Captain Beefheart, Jimmy Reed, Bunker Hill, Howling Wolf, and a lot of blues.

Rumspinga’s new full length LP coming out in 2010 is currently being recorded by their producer Manny Nieto at his studio. The band is also managed by World End Production. In addition to this 2010 release, Rumspringa will again be performing at South by Southwest (SXSW) next year.Rumspringa’s next show is this Wednesday at Spaceland in Silverlake. Be sure to see this show in another small venue while you still can. Rumspringa’s self-titled EP is available to download at iTunes.  All photographs are by SHGfoto.com and were taken at multiple venues.

Also: Rumspringa on Facebook, Rumspring on Myspace, & Rumspringa at Cantora Records

Now that we have all recovered and feel human once more, here’s a selection of pics for you to enjoy – all courtesy of the amazing Sophia Schorr-Korn – www.sskphotography.co.uk. A Massive thank you to everyone involved in the Dirty Boots Stage at Glasto 09…

xx