Music Blog

Sure, you know names like PJ Harvey and The Decemberists-- and probably still Echo & the Bunnymen, too-- all of whom are playing SXSW in Austin this year. But what happens when we dig a little deeper? Pouring through the hundreds of mp3s SXSW offers from showcasing bands every year is almost as much an annual tradition as the festival itself-- if nothing else, it's always allowed those of us unable to make the trek south to live vicariously and in the process discover a song or band we didn't previously have the pleasure of knowing.

It's in that spirit, then, that we've excavated these, a few 2009 musical diamonds in the SXSW rough-- and let's face it, there's a lot of rough. While we can't claim to have listened to every song offered on this year's website, we certainly hit the vast majority. This is what was new to us (but maybe not to you)-- happy listening...

The Black & White Years (Austin, TX): "Power to Change"

Fool's Gold (Los Angeles, CA): "Surprise Hotel"

Or, the Whale (San Francisco, CA): "Call & Response"

The Lovely Sparrows (Austin, TX): "Year of the Dog"

Frances (New York, NY): "Lighthouse"

Harlem Shakes (New York, NY): "Strictly Game"

Ohbijou (Toronto, ON): "Black Ice"

Suckers (Brooklyn, NY): "It Gets Your Body Movin'"

Arms & Sleepers (Cambridge, MA): "Butterflycatcher"

Fanfarlo (London, UK): "Harold T Wilkins"

Howlies (Atlanta, GA): "Chimera"

Liz Green (Manchester, UK): "Midnight Blues"

The Miserable Rich (Brighton, UK): "Pisshead"

Look for our coverage from Austin later this week and on into the weekend, and we don't just mean reviews of the taco buses.

 

Tagged: mp3, SXSW 2009