SXSW: Meet the bands

Sunwrae. Aka Rae Howell, an Australian composer and multi-instrumentalist whose modern chamber group plays works for string quartet, harp, clarinet, flute, lap-steel guitar, double bass and percussion. International commissions and residencies have come her way, leading to collaborations with free-jazz legend Sam Rivers, composer/percussionist Eugene Skeef and recording engineer Jon Cohrs, her current partner in the experimental/ambient electronic project 'Rabbits without Spleens.' (8 p.m., Elephant Room) | Web site

What Made Milwaukee Famous. PBS' venerable 'Austin City Limits' anointed What Made Milwaukee Famous even before it was signed, featuring the Austinites on a power-pop bill with Britain's Franz Ferdinand. WMMF's debut, 'Trying to Never Catch Up,' has landed it on watch-lists in publications such as Rolling Stone, Billboard and Magnet, but more importantly, this is a band that proclaims 'It's not so much the way you hurt me -- it's more like the way you make me want to hurt myself' -- and makes you want to sing along. (Midnight, La Zona Rosa) | Web site

A-Trak. Montreal native A-Trak (Alain Macklovitch to his mother) made a splash at DJ competitions and working with Invisibl Skratch Piklz and Miami's DJ Craze before Kanye West hired him for a 2004 tour. A-Trak has continued to work and record with West while maintaining his own global jet-setting career. (midnight, Beauty Bar) | Web site

Keren Ann. 'Chelsea Burns' on her last album, 2004's 'Nolita,' sounded like the Cowboy Junkies taking lower Manhattan, very slowly, although Keren Ann's inward murmur can make Margo Timmins seem almost Shakira-esque by comparison. Now based in New York as well as Paris, the somnolent chanteuse recorded half of 'Nolita' in English, and there's more of that barbaric tongue on a new, self-titled album due April 23 on Blue Note's MetroBlue imprint, mixed, curiously, by Joe Baresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool, the Melvins). (11 p.m., Central Presbyterian Church) | Web site

Antibalas. It's too late to catch a Fela Kuti show, but you'll find plenty of the late, great master's propulsive, polyrhythmic energy at an Antibalas gig, along with jet-fueled horn charts and a sharp social consciousness. The NYC group's new 'Security' was produced by John McEntire, of Tortoise fame. (1 a.m., Antone's) | Web site

Beat the Devil. Perhaps the only trio to list both Indian film legend Satyajit Ray and 'maximum strength generic cough syrup' as major influences, Beat the Devil's unique sound derives from the odd juxtaposition of the sweetly haunting harmonium (a tabletop, hand-pumped organ often used in Indian music) and the acrid voice of frontwoman Shilpa Ray. (8 p.m., Beerland) | Web site

The Dap-Kings featuring Sharon Jones. Born in James Brown's hometown of Augusta, Ga., Sharon Jones moved to Brooklyn as a teenager and paid plenty of dues, providing backing vocals and singing gospel in church before finally finding her funk-and-soul mates, the Dap-Kings. Following their album debut in 2002, they also recorded with artists such as Greyboy and steadily built a reputation as a great live band. (midnight, Antone's) | Web site

Tobias Froberg. 'The next Scandinavian superstar,' according to Alan McGee, the guy who 'discovered' Oasis and head of Poptones, Froberg's label for the U.K. and most of Europe. Froberg's MySpace page lists both Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel as influences. On his second album, Froberg channels the youthful Simon on 'God's Highway,' and aims for the delicacy of the other half of the duo on 'Love & Misery,' a duet with quavering soprano Ane Brune. (9 p.m., 18th Floor at Hilton Garden Inn) | Web site

Jon Dee Graham. Few songwriters combine the sweet and the sardonic so deftly, and few guitarists segue so effortlessly between the economical and the explosive as does this Austin icon. He's never quite garnered the national reputation he deserves, but is the subject of an upcoming documentary filmed, appropriately enough, by a veteran of the Discovery Channel. (1 a.m., Continental Club) | Web site

The Good, the Bad & the Queen. Damon Albarn continues his post-Blur explorations in a new quartet with Verve guitarist Simon Tong, Clash bassist Paul Simonon and longtime Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. Danger Mouse produced their new, self-titled debut, which is certainly no landmark in the stellar careers of Simonon or Allen, but has an intriguingly sparse, meeting-the-sunrise-in-the-wrong-neighborhood atmosphere. (March 16, 12:45 a.m., Stubb's) | Web site

Hello Stranger. Their wiggy, retro-futuristic electro-pop might be as hopelessly kitschy as their press photos, if not for the surprising purity of Juliette Commagere's voice. Her fashion sense runs to Barbarella and Raquel Welch circa '1,000,000 Years B.C.,' but she sings in a style more reminiscent of the '50s, beautifully modulated and free of tremolo and mannerisms. Ry Cooder produced the band's debut -- the drummer is son Joachim Cooder. (9 p.m., BD Riley's) | Web site

Robyn Hitchcock. A SXSW stalwart, Robyn Hitchcock returns to vintage surreal form with the new 'Ole! Tarantula,' backed by the Venus 3, which includes REM guitarist Peter Buck and the Young Fresh Fellows' Scott McCaughey, along with their Minus 5 bandmate Bill Rieflin. Morris Windsor and Kimberley Rew of the Soft Boys also make appearances, along with the Faces' Ian McLagan, now an Austin favorite. Hitchcock is scheduled to perform solo, but who knows who'll turn up. (10 p.m., Dirty Dog Bar) | Web site

The Hoodoo Gurus. Australia's Hoodoo Gurus got heavy stateside college-radio play in the '80s with crunchy power-pop nuggets such as 'I Want You Back' and 'Bittersweet.' The Gurus are poised for a U.S. comeback with their first dates here in years, as well as a new deal with New York's Virtual Records (distributed through Ryko). In addition to releases and re-releases of back catalogue and video recordings, the group has a new album in the works. (11:40 p.m., Blender Bar at The Ritz) | Web site

Rickie Lee Jones. The mercurial, still girlishly worldly Duchess of Cool has received some of her best reviews in years for the rock-infused 'The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard.' An idiosyncratic exploration of Jesus' words and philosophy, it includes a song -- 'Falling Up' -- sung from the viewpoint of a spectator at the Sermon on the Mount. (12:30 a.m., Parish) | Web site

Carrie Rodriguez. When veteran songwriter Chip Taylor ('Wild Thing,' 'Angel of the Morning') asked Austin-raised, Berklee-schooled violinist Carrie Rodriguez to join his band, he inquired if she could sing back-up. They soon began a fuller collaboration that has produced three duet albums and Rodriguez's 2006 solo debut, 'Seven Angels on a Bicycle,' where her Texas twang and homespun songs contrast with dreamy soundscapes by jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and members of his working groups. (12:30 a.m., Cedar Street Courtyard) | Web site | Listen in SoundCheck

Skye. Morcheeba emerged in the '90s as something of a poor man's Portishead, but the haunting beauty of former frontwoman Skye's voice is undeniable. Opening for Ziggy Marley at La Zona Rosa a few months back, Skye managed to captivate even in a sparse acoustic setting before a party-primed crowd unfamiliar with her chill solo debut, 'Mind How You Go.' (1 a.m., Central Presbyterian Church) | Web site

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. The name is more than a mouthful, but the band's chimey indie-pop features pithy melodies that have drawn comparisons to the Shins, and won it a place on the Polyvinyl label, home to Of Montreal and Mates of State. (1 a.m., Red 7) | Web site

Sound Team. A major Austin buzz band last year, Sound Team's debut not only failed to blow up but faced major backlash. The band got into an Internet skirmish with the influential Pitchfork, which dismissed 'Monster Movie' as 'painfully mediocre.' Will Sound Team's new material be strong enough to help it hurdle recent changes in its lineup, its management and its record company's corporate structure? (1 a.m., Buffalo Billiards) | Web site

The Waybacks. Lloyd Maines of Dixie Chicks fame produced 'From the Pasture to the Future,' the fourth and latest album by this San Francisco band of hot pickers. In praise of their chops and range -- bluegrass, gypsy jazz, country-rock, western swing and even a Chick Corea rhumba -- Maines has said: 'There is no smoke and mirrors here.' The group now includes 20-something mandolinist-fiddler Warren Hood, son of Austin legend Champ Hood. (March 17, 9 p.m., Continental Club)

AM. AM is a guy, not a band, which means he doesn't have to split up the royalties from all those TV placements. His sensitive, indie-rock-lite songs have cropped up on shows such as 'Men in Trees,' MTV's 'The Real World' and HBO's 'Big Love,' and Hollywood is no doubt eagerly awaiting this summer's sequel to 'Troubled Times,' titled 'Soul Variations.' (10 p.m., Whisky Bar) | Web site

Au Revoir Simone. The Brooklyn electronic-pop trio was selected to appear with filmmaker David Lynch at a Manhattan bookstore event in January, which gives you some idea of their otherworldliness, although their sound has surprising warmth. Their showcase follows a European tour and precedes a U.S. tour with Austin's like-minded Voxtrot. (3/17 12 a.m. Copa) | Web site

Bang Gang. Despite the aggressive-sounding name, this vehicle for Icelandic composer-producer Bardi Johannsson purveys frosty, ethereal pop that uses soprano voices for texture. Car companies love Bang Gang -- European MTV exposure led Citroen to adopt 'So Alone?' and Volkswagen hired Johannsson to write a Passat commercial. He also pairs with singer Keren Ann in the side project Lady and Bird. (11 p.m., Elysium) | Web site

The Coydogs. This Brooklyn three-piece takes its name from the offspring of coyotes and domestic dogs. The band likes to rock up country music '60s style, with simple vocal harmonies and winding, twangy guitar solos, or can go for a more stripped-down, acoustic feel, with some vintage soul and pop or earthy blues thrown in. (8:50 p.m. Beerland) | Web site

Dirty Wormz. A stern heavy-metal accent and churning rhythms distinguish this Austin rap act, originally founded by members of Vallejo along with current leaders MC Smackola and DJ Crash. Their 'Top of the Food Chain' was a No. 1 local request on radio station 101X a couple years back. (1 a.m. Club One 15) | Web site

Grupo Fantasma. Prince has taken this dynamic, eminently danceable Austin 11-piece under his big purple wing, hiring them to play their funk-inflected salsas, cumbias, merengues and polkas not just for high-profile parties (Golden Globes, pre-Super Bowl) but also a weekly residency at his club in Las Vegas. (11 p.m. Emo's Annex) | Web site

Jandek. The reclusive 'representative of Corwood Industries' has been causing hands to scratch heads and cover ears since the late '70s, recording 49 (and counting) albums that give new meaning to the word 'inaccessible.' There may be more fans of the documentary 'Jandek on Corwood' than of its mysterious subject, but here's a chance to judge which is more inscrutable: the man or the music? (7 p.m., Central Presbyterian Church) | Web site

Moonlight Towers. The Austin power-pop band turned to New Orleans producer-engineer Mike Napolitano (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Neville Brothers, Ani DiFranco) for its second album, 2005's 'Like You Were Never There.' The savvy music consultants at TV's 'Veronica Mars' picked one of the tunes, 'Never the Same Again' for a scene in a recent episode. (12 a.m. Copa) | Web site

My Latest Novel. Comparisons to Belle & Sebastian and the Arcade Fire have been flying, but reviewers seem to agree this Scottish band has its own sound. The five members create high drama singing in elaborate harmony and employing guitars, violins, xylophones, layers of percussion and whatever chamber-rock instruments come to hand. (8 p.m. Buffalo Billiards) | Web site

Reeve Carney & the Revolving Band. Don't hate him because he's beautiful -- and not only looks but sounds more than a bit like Jeff Buckley. Carney's band includes his brother Zane and sister Paris, although keyboardist Charles Jones seems to be the secret weapon on arrangements that conjure a rickety circus on one song and XTC or Radiohead on the next. A 2007 studio debut on Interscope will be the follow-up to an indie double live CD/DVD. (12:15 a.m., Whisky Bar) | Web site

Spoon. The band won pretty much everything at the Austin Music Awards last year except Best Gospel Quartet and was voted into the Hall of Fame as well. They haven't updated their Web site or MySpace page since late last year, which hopefully means they've been busy readying that followup to 2005's 'Gimme Fiction.' It's time their legions of imitators got something new to chew on. (11 p.m., Stubb's) | Web site

The Stooges. They reunited for a brief tour in 2003, with bassist Mike Watt, a rock icon in his own right, replacing the late Dave Alexander. The Stooges kick off a world tour with the release of their first studio album in more than three decades, 'The Weirdness,' recorded by Steve Albini (speaking of icons). (12:30 a.m., Stubb's)| Web site

The Summer Wardrobe. They call their sound 'ambient southern rock,' which is not chill-out room remixes of Lynyrd Skynyrd songs, but a pedal-steel-infused blend of country-rock and jangly pop, heavy on the atmospherics. Formed in 2003, the Austin group got signed to New York-based Rainbow Quartz on the strength of its SXSW showcase last year, and has won kudos from 'The Times of London' and other publications with its self-titled debut. (8 p.m., Latitude 30) | Web site

Tilly and the Wall. There are other indie-pop groups featuring boy/girl harmonies, but not many that favor percussion sounds made by hands and feet (the latter in tap shoes). This Omaha quintet recorded its first demo in Conor Oberst's (a/k/a Bright Eyes) basement and released their first album, 'Wild Like Children,' on his label (keyboardist Nick White also has accompanied Oberst live). (10 p.m. Beauty Bar Patio) | Web site