This was probably the highlight of SXSW. Jack Ladder is newly signed to Fat Possum Records The Australian act Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders has dropped his album ‘Playmates’ and his style that has a bit of 80s but is very current at the same time (think the Horrors meet Simple Minds). Breathtakingly good. Be your own judge. This is the Sydney crooner Jack Ladder:

This is what she says on her website: I am Halsey. I will never be anything but honest. I write songs about sex and being sad. That is all we need to know. The mixture of Lorde and Lana Del Rey is addictive and the lead single Hurricane is not just a little breeze but a pop anthem:

This is  a real Rock Band – from Oklahoma of all places. A bit dirty and rough but with great lines and hooks. They will play SXSW and are one of the bands to watch out for. The new song NC-17 is dope and almost as good as their radical and rocking song Class Historian

The Districts are a great Rock Band. They are fun, can play, have perfect timing, are tight, write stunning songs and perform in an authentic way. This is what they say about them self: We’re from a little town called Lititz, Pa. We write honest music and are passionate about doing so. Their album A Flourish and a Spoil is out now, was record of the month for Rough Trade and just rocks.

London-based producer Ryan Lee West is notable for making synthesisers sound human and atmospheric. With the release of ‘Odyssey’  and ‘Sonne’ under his Rival Consoles moniker, West has gained a reputation for making thoughtful electronica that spans a wide spectrum of musical ideas. Continuing on from his ‘Odyssey’ EP, ‘Sonne’ is all about atmosphere and space whilst exploring waves of sound and rhythm, and the power of colour. Ryan’s aim was to create music to structure itself around a pulse, rather than the pulse being the defining point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94Z1epHV5Ek

Listening to Cry for Me from “Hunny” you would bet a lot of money on the band being from the UK – possibly East London or so…you would be dead wrong. Honey are from Newbury Park in good old Southern Cal. Expect a lot more to come from this extent. Produced by Doug Boehm (Girls, Tokyo Police Club, Christopher Owens), the danceable track is a charismatic, funky burst of indie rock pop in between emotive pleas.Cry for Me has hit written all over it:

When Spring King roll into the capital of Texas in March they know – this time it is all in. The will play half a dozen shows at this years SXSW festival and hope to strike gold in the form of a major record contract. Chances are good that this dream will become reality. Spring King. The brits have played the Great Escape before and are lots of fun. Listen to their song Demons and get the idea:

Before there was Chali XCX there was Marina Dimandis aka Marina & the Diamonds from the beautiful country of Wales. Her next album will be called Froot and the single is Immortal. This could be a Lana Del Rey song – and that’s a good thing. Immortal:

and another song from Froot in a stripped down version (Happy):

Django Django are back with a bang. First Light is the new single and let me tell you – it’s brilliant would be an understatement.The quartet of David Maclean (drummer and producer), Vincent Neff (singer and guitarist), Jimmy Dixon (bassist), and Tommy Grace (synthesizer operator) met at Edinburgh College of Art, and formed Django Django in London in 2009.trendENgel can’t wait for the followup album to their self titled debut from 2012. This is what to expect: