Thursday, March 13

David Dye (World Cafe) and Jim McGuinn (Afternoon Mix, Y-Rock on XPN) will be broadcasting/webcasting live from Austin in the afternoon at the NPR Music showcase with All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen and Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein. Musical guests include the Shout Out Louds, A.A. Bondy, Jens Lekman, Yeasayer, Bon Iver, and Vampire Weekend.

In the evening, coverage continues with NPR webcasts of performances by:
The Whigs - Listen
Yo La Tengo - Listen
My Morning Jacket - Listen

*My Morning Jacket's concert will be rebroadcast on WXPN/Y-Rock on XPN Friday night at 8pm ET.

The previous evening's R.E.M. concert will be rebroadcast at 8pm ET on WXPN/Y-Rock on XPN.

SXSW on NPR Broadcasts, 3/13

Shout Out Louds
Our Ill Wills

Label: Merge
Origin: Sweden
Website | MySpace
Video: Tonight I Have to Leave It
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

The Swedish indie pop/rock band The Shout Out Louds debuted in 2002 and their first full-length record, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, was released on the independent record label Bud Fox in Scandinavian music stores in 2003 to much praise. They gained momentum after extensive tours throughout the world, and are slowly making their way into the American music market with their twinge of '80s music style embellished with strings, xylophones and synths, reminiscent of The Cure and The Smiths. They have performed with The Strokes, Kings of Leon, The Magic Numbers and Secret Machines. The Shout Out Louds released their second album Our Ill Wills in Sweden last April and the U.S. in September. With the guidance of Björn Yttling from the band Peter, Björn and John, this heartfelt album is quickly invading the indie scene. Their singles off of the album include "Tonight I Have to Leave It" and the melancholy "Parents Livingroom."

A.A. Bondy
American Hearts

Label: Superphonic
Origin: Alabama
Website | MySpace
Video: Vice Rag (Live)
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Scott Bondy, Verbena's singer and guitarist, has resurfaced as A.A. Bondy and has a new album of acoustic songs, American Hearts. Verbena was a band with punk roots and Southern swagger, but after three albums and an EP,they disbanded without much fanfare. Bondy's solo debut "American Hearts" includes songs that are influenced by an folk and blues, yet "filtered through the mind of someone who knows what makes a great rock song breathe." (SuperphonicRecords.com)

Jens Lekman
Night Falls Over Kortedala

Label: Service/Secretly Canadian
Origin: Sweden
Website | MySpace
NPR piece
Video: Sipping on Sweet Nectar
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Swedish singer/ songwriter, Jens Lekman is an extremely popular musician in his native Sweden, reaching #6 on their album charts for his debut When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog (2004) and nominated for three Swedish Grammies. His guitar based pop songs are embedded with thoughtful lyrics that often infuse various themes of witicism, meloncholy and romanticism.

Yeasayer
All Hour Cymbals

Label: We Are Free
Origin: Brooklyn, NY
Website | MySpace
NPR piece
Video: 2080 (Live)
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Although the Brooklyn-based Yeasayer describe their sound as "Middle Eastern-Psych-Pop-Snap-Gospel", they've already been labeled the latest in a line of indie groups working in the long shadow cast by the highly influential late 70s/early 80s collaboration between Brian Eno and David Byrne - particularly Eno's inventive re-appropriation of music's ritualistic roots within the context of modern electronic textures. Yet, among Eno-Bryne's sonic progeny, Yeasayer has offered one of the more impressive takes on Byrnes' haunted robotic gospel as well as the team's love affair with world music. Yeasayer's standout first single "2080" gained recognition early in 2007, and garnered comparisons with fellow hyped indies TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear, and Animal Collective. Yeasayer's October LP debut All Hour Cymbals builds upon the style and tone set by "2080". Yeasayer's dystopian sensibility, their eclectic international range of sounds, and their smart, chic nod to the some of most respected innovators of 80s new wave/postpunk results in a memorable, stirring entry into the budding hipster genre of indie rock world music.

Bon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago

Label: Jagjaguwar
Origin: Eau Claire, WS
Website | MySpace
NPR piece
Video: Flume
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

After the breakup of his band, Bon Iver (Justin Vernon) decided to live alone in the outskirts of Wisconsin for meditation. What he found instead was a new inspiration for creating acoustic self-reflective music. His album is full of simple and soulful tracks that depict his experience.

Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend

Label: XL Recordings
Origin: New York
Website | MySpace
World Cafe Interview
Video: A-Punk
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Afro-pop indie band Vampire Weekend (soloist Ezra Koenig, keyboardist/producer Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, and bassist Chris Baiospent) spent last summer touring to raise anticipation for their self-titled debut album, released this month on XL Recordings. Their fans appreciation of their single, "Mansard Roof," suggests that the album will be a success. Vampire Weekend has emerged from the fertile New York indie-rock scene: All four of its members met while attending Columbia University. This band sticks out from the crowd due to their endearingly wordy lyrics which made their songs sound collegiate in the best possible way, and their unique sound which inventively mixes contemporary American indie-rock, Western classical music and South African traditional music. The band strived to capture its Afro-pop fandom in its songwriting, and it did well. Stylish songs such as "A-Punk" blend ska and woodwinds, while "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" invokes African dance music, not to mention lyrics about raging hormones.

Yo La Tengo
I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

Label: Matador
Origin: Hoboken, NJ
Website | MySpace
NPR piece
Video: Story of Yo La Tengo
("Gilmore Girls" appearance)
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

American indie rock band Yo La Tengo is based in Hoboken, New Jersey and has a devoted fan base. They have released more than 15 albums since 1984, and are known for their repertoire of cover songs. Ira Kaplan, singer/guitarist and frontman, and his wife, Georgia Hubley, drummer, vocalist, founded the band in 1984. "From whispered ballads to punkish verve, from intricate arrangements to the heady allure of happenstance, Yo La Tengo - as their name suggests -have it all. They manage the near impossible of satisfying both their quest for the loving embrace of their unshakable musical character, and the tirelessness that has kept them from repeating themselves." (Matador Records.com)

My Morning Jacket
Okonokos, Evil Urges (due out June 2008)

Label: ATO
Origin: Louisville, KY
Website | MySpace
World Cafe Interview
Concert Archives:
MP3 | Windows Media
Video: On "Late Show with David Letterman" with the Boston Pops
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

My Morning Jacket is an American rock band known for their reverb-heavy sound, their eclectic mix of indie and country rock with psychedelia and jam band styles, and their enthusiastic and energetic live shows. Formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky, the band is now signed with Dave Matthew's ATO Records. MMJ is Jim James on vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, bassist Two-Tone Tommy, and drummer Patrick Hallahan - original band members - Bo Koster on keyboard with Carl Broemel on guitar. Their new CD Evil Urges is due out June 10.

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