120 words about 30 bands at SXSW 2010

• Tanlines: Afro-enabled synth bacchanal.
• Best Coast: Buoyant, Deal-y melodic grunge.
• We Were Promised Jetpacks: Masculine emo road untaken.
• Frightened Rabbit: Jangly Scots Duritz mutation?

• Wye Oak: Heart-piercingly honest alto.
• The Boxer Rebellion: U2 > Radiohead > Doves > TBR
• Thee Oh Sees: Roadhouse paddywhacks; enticing stink.
• The Drums: Joy Division again? Really?
• Anita Tijoux: Chilean memoirist, Bronx language.
• Ben Gibbard: Alone, narrative bleakness underscored.
• Total Abuse: Brutalist hardcore, unintentional vaudeville.
• The Coathangers: Cavegrrrls squeal, shake, roar.
• Garotas Suecas: Carefree groovicália, young hearts.
• Hole: Aged into “scary” character.
• Real Estate: Rollin’ downriver, beery haze.
• Golden Triangle: Lily Munster meets B-52’s?
• Surfer Blood: Workin’ hard, hardly workin’.
• Besnard Lakes: Credo in rockum sacrum.
• Robert Francis: Never left Hotel California.
• Nas/Damian (Junior Gong) Marley: Surprise! Bob samples galore.
• L’Orchidée d’Hawaï: Surfin’ Rhône-Alpes. Absolument charmant.
• Sharon Jones: “Soul phenom.” Time machine?
• Broken Bells: Dreamy comfort, sleepy pace.
• Spoon: Effortless lordship, small kingdom.
• Freelance Whales: Could be Lemmy’s breakfast.
• Scorpion Child: Feelgood retro heshercore, re-retro’d.
• Free Energy: Wholesomely sleazy, courageously dumb.
• XYX: Freakout duos: universal language.
• Los Amparito: Sunbaked, pan-Latin laptopism.
• Dark Castle: Guttural roars, cavelike shadows.