Paste's 100 Bands At SXSW

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#75) Deer Tick: Playing in support of Jonny Corndawg, there’s a few road bumps, but a fun break from the heat and humidity.

#74) Wye Oak: The Baltimore duo sounds magnificent right now. Civilian’s energy in full force right now. Phenomenal.

#73) Sealions: Airy, dreamy synth-rock with a bite to it. A less-electronic, more ethereal version of Cut Copy.

#72) My Name Is John Michael: Catchy NOLA indie-pop outfit with a kickass horn section.

#71) Man On Earth: Edgy rock band seen passing through a 5th St. alley patio. Pretty standard affair for modern mainstream rock.

#70) Brandon Chandler: Free bloody mary’s are the only good thing during this performance at the BMI brunch. They do nothing for me.

#69) Tristen: Early morning electric guitars accompanying one hell of a voice. That girl can sure sing, with a rasp that softly kills.

#68) Cloud Control: Decent garage rockers combine mildly-raucous attitude with a splash of melodic pop.

#67) Those Darlins: Country-laced female-fronted punk rockers summon the careless attitude of likeminded rioters the Black Lips.

#66) She Keeps Bees: No frills, brooding guitar & drum duo. Unassuming both in sound and stage presence. No complaints, no excitement.

#65) Royal Thunder: Atlanta’s Black Mountain, but rock way harder, exude more confidence & brood like no other. For Wolfmother fans.

#64) The Romany Rye: 70’s Gold Sounds meets Alt-Country a la The Jayhawks. Feels like music for a Sunday afternoon drive.

#63) Sallie Ford: Rockabilly throwback group takes crowd back to the hop.

#62) J Mascis: Even on a solo acoustic tour, J brought all that amazing distortion and golden fuzz. The man has the room captivated.

#61) The Submarines: Jangly, lighthearted folk-pop topped with sweet and delicate vocals.

#60) David Wax Museum: Mexo-Americana brilliance that can fill a 1000-person bar without mics-Play on bar tabletop? Why not.

#59) John Vanderslice: Andrew Bird for the masses.

#58) Rural Alberta Advantage: Canadian folk-rock trio with a sense of urgency.

57) Jukebox The Ghost: Covers Donna Lewis’s “I Love You Always Forever.” Meh.

#56) Mermaids: Atlanta rock band combines raw punk with hints of tropicalia. Cool punk for a hot Austin day.

Whirlpool by mermaids

#55) Luke Rathborne: There’s a reason he and his group are opening for The Strokes tonight.

#54) Oryx and Crake: Atlanta orch-pop ensemble fuses acoustic and electronic in stunning fashion.

#53) Seryn: Evocative five-piece dynamically swoons and swirls with emotion. Know these guys (and girl).

#52) Olof Arnalds: Stunning voice that sweetly commands attention, accompanied by some easy-breezy guitar.

#51) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: Nascar racing suits, Beach Boys cover & vibrant indie-rock? Can’t think of a better way to start the day.