The Ruby Suns - "There Are Birds"

Your reaction to the news "Lots Of Matador Vinyl Now Back In Print" (Interpol, Belle & Sebastian, Pavement + more) may be the same as my reaction: "These were out of print?" But a quick scan around the internet would reveal that, yes, these were out of print (Amazon sellers were even charging $69.99 for Interpol's Antics. Antics, people). So do yourself a service and go peruse the listing of recent vinyl reprints and arrivals over at the Matablog.

LadyhawkeHello from sunny - and goodness, is it sunny - Austin, Texas, where I will be spending the next five days or so inundating you with dispatches from SxSW Music that you probably care nothing about. I’m okay with that. The blow-by-blow will start tomorrow, but for today I’ll do the preview thing, listing off a half-dozen of the new or new-to-me acts that I’m most looking forward to seeing over the next four days and nights.

I admit to feeling a twinge of guilt when I listen to New Zealander Pip Brown, aka Ladyhawke, but any reservations I have about enjoying something so utterly and unabashedly ’80s retro evaporate right about the moment the chorus kicks in. My initial experience with “Paris Is Burning,” for example, went something like “oh my god I hope she’s paying Gary Numan royalt– OMG ENDORPHIN RUSH”, and that buzz recurs all throughout the record.

Ladyhawke’s official showcase goes tonight at Stubb’s at 10PM. Brown has been diagnosed with Aspberger’s Syndrome and apparently is still getting used to live performance but she doesn’t have to make eye contact - just play “Back Of The Van.” I’m really looking forward to this set. Like, totally.

MP3: Ladyhawke - “My Delirium”

Though they’re decidedly overused as reference points, in the case of London’s Fanfarlo, the Arcade Fire really are an apt reference point. Just imagine if they were more folkish, less angsty and their frontman sounded like a more lilting David Byrne rather than the tightly-wound, live wire variety.

Channel M had the band in their studios for a five-song video session.

MP3: Fanfarlo - “Harold T Wilkins”

Leeds’ Sky Larkin should be familiar to anyone who reads this site, so introductions should be unnecessary. Suffice to say that I’m glad to finally have a chance to see them live at midnight Wednesday evening on Red 7’s patio, even if they are going to be in Toronto in a couple weeks at the Opera House opening for Los Campesinos! on April 1.

MP3: Sky Larkin - “Fossil, I”

I don’t even know when/where/how I stumbled across Austin’s Ume but I’m so very glad I did. Loud and abrasive but with a gooey pop center, they sound to me like Belly covering Nirvana - remember, even though I grew up in the ’80s, I came of age in the ’90s and a combination like that is irresistible.

MP3: Ume - “The Conductor”

Crocodile are from Oklahoma and sound nothing like the Flaming Lips. Just to be clear. What they do sound like is chirpy, female-fronted guitar pop with just the right dollop of synth in the mix. No angle on this one - just catchy, straight-ahead good tunes. Not to be confused with Crocodiles, who will also be in Austin this week, albeit in an unofficial (no SxSW showcase) capacity. Crocodile (singular) are on at 8 tonight on the rooftop of Wave.

MP3: Crocodile - “August Is Over”

I’d been hoping for a chance to see Athens, Georgia’s Venice Is Sinking since first hearing their debut Sorry About The Flowers back in 2006, but figured it was unlikely they’d ever find cause or opportunity to tour this far north. Happily, the release of the follow-up Azar, out March 31, has garnered the band a SxSW showcase - tonight at 10PM at Ace’s Lounge - where I’ll finally get to savour their lush orch-gaze in person. Yes, I said orch-gaze. Shut up.

MP3: Venice Is Sinking - “Ryan’s Song”

Pre-order the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ new album "It’s Blitz" at Insound you'll receive a bonus 7” featuring “Zero” and "Zero (Animal Collective Remix)"

Camera Obscura - "French Navy"

The-Dream - “Mr. Yeah”

For the first couple minutes of “Mr. Yeah,” The-Dream sounds smooth and confident. Or, perhaps more accurately, smug and cocky. He’s singing to an ex who is still getting with him on the side, and from his perspective this means exactly one thing: Her subsequent boyfriends are fools, and he’s the only one who can do her right. Maybe that is true, but there has got to be a reason why he’s the ex, right? He’s barely even thinking about that. As the song progresses, his cockiness fades a bit, but only to be replaced by neediness — his resentment of her current man becomes more obvious, and he openly states his desire to return to full-time boyfriend status in a shaky but certain phone-voice. After that point, the song shifts from bouncy flirtation to sentimental slow jam, sort of the audio equivalent of seamlessly transitioning from a playful club strut to getting down on bended knee in a room decorated with candles and rose petals. Thankfully, The-Dream defuses the sudden seriousness of the song’s conclusion with a boyish punchline: “Can we fuck now?”

Buy it from Amazon.