JJ's Superlative Sunday Picks for ACL: You've Been Schooled

foals (Sun, 1:15p, Honda)

The members of the mathematical rock quintet Foals come from Oxford, England, and have been playing together since 2005. Lead singer and guitarist Yannis Philippakis, guitarist Jimmy Smith and bassist Walter Gervers wear their guitar straps high, allowing them to show off their dexterous riffs across melodies that capture the band’s poppy, frenetic, post-punk sound. 

portugal the man (Sun,  2p, Budweiser)

If for nothing else than their clever name and album titles (i.e., Waiter: “You Vultures!” The Satanic Satanist and The Majestic Majesty), Portugal. The Man would deserve some renown. For better or worse, bandmates John Gourley and Zach Carothers also hail from the same hometown that provides the setting for Sarah Palin’s Alaska. (They now share a house in Portland, Ore.; the home state of members Jason Sechrist and Ryan Neighbors.) But their engaging alterna-pop-rock is the real reason scores of fans are paying attention—and the reason they landed a deal with Atlantic Records, for whom they’re now recording the follow-up to their recent release, American Ghetto. Of all places for a northern-exposed band to record, they chose the dusty West Texas town of El Paso.

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dawes(Sun, 2:20p, Austin Ventures)

Harking back to L.A.’s Laurel Canyon scene—Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills & Nash—Dawes embraces a rootsy Americana vibe that draws from folk rock’s creative heyday, but adds a contemporary country-rock edge. The quartet of Taylor and his brother Griffin Goldsmith, Wylie Gelber and Alex Casnoff emerged from the ashes of the Goldsmith brothers’ previous, harder-rocking outfit, Simon Dawes. Prolific indie producer Jonathan Wilson (Jenny Lewis, Elvis Costello) helmed this band’s debut album, North Hills, at his cottage studio, where all the songs were recorded live. This touch lends the work an intimate rawness and showcases the band’s crisp harmonies—and an emotional maturity that belies the group’s collective youth. Dawes are hot off a national tour in support of North Hills including a career-making run at South By Southwest.

gayngs (Sun, 3p, ZYNC card)

Gayngs isn’t just a supergroup. It’s more like a super kingdom that’s been inhabited by more than 25 talented indie artists, including Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and Mike Noyce, P.O.S. and Solid Gold’s Zack Coulter and Adam Hurlburt. The band formed in 2008 in Minneapolis through the efforts of producer/songwriter Ryan Olson, along with Coulter and Hurlburt. They drew their initial inspiration from British art-pop band 10cc’s hit, “I’m Not in Love,” and ultimately caught interest from a plethora of like-minded collaborators. That 10cc sensibility makes its way into Gayng’s May 2010 debut, Relayted, which maintains a soulful-paced tempo at just 69 beats per minute and weaves streaks of R&B, soft rock and a large dose of airy vocal reverb to create modern, tripped-out indie-rock.

yeasayer (Sun, 4p, AMD)

The trio of Yeasayer, comprised of Anand Wilder, Chris Keating and Ira Wolf Tuton, released one of the most anticipated albums of 2010 with Odd Blood, an electronically-infused dance-rock romp through a twisted and exciting musical realm. They first made an impression with their 2007 debut, All Hour Cymbals, winning over audiences with their dreamy hit “2080.” On Odd Blood, single “Ambling Alp” captured the imaginations of listeners with its driving rhythm and anthemic, fist pump-worthy chorus. The New Yorkers have since been touring extensively throughout the states and Europe, moving bodies and caressing ears all along the way. Some of their music seems to tightly embrace ‘80s pop, whereas some strides into deliciously folky territory. No matter what era the guys play with, they always play with gusto, making them a must-see live act for music fans of all ages.

edward sharpe (Sun, 5p, ZYNC card)

For a band known for their peace-and-love hippie aura, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros have an awfully high body count in the first two segments of SALVO!, the band’s 12-part music video series. The videos thus far feature lead singer Alex Ebert (ex-Ima Robot), as the main character and devil’s offspring Edward, and follows him through his misfortunes in the desert. The band is a rotating collective, with 10 members listed on their Rough Trade Records bio. Rolling Stone declared the group an artist to watch in 2009, calling them a cross between Arcade Fire and the Mamas and the Papas. Their own biography perhaps summarizes their effect best: “Fans are known to be so overcome with emotion at their live shows that tears of euphoric joy are not uncommon.”

the flaming lips (Sun, 6p, AMD)

All Music Guide's description of the group as “acid bubblegum” is as good a label as any to try to explain the dancing-about-architecture nature of Wayne Coyne and bandmates, currently co-founding bassist/keyboardist Michael Ivins, multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd, who joined in 1993, and drummer/percussionist Kliph Scurlock, a member since 1999. Showman Coyne handles reedy vocals, guitar, keyboards, assorted other instruments and weird theatrics, like floating in a bubble over crowds, filling the stage with animal- or Teletubbie-costumed characters and various forms of provocative behavior. His bent for weirdness extends to bizarre song and album titles like “Psychiatric Explorations of the Fetus with Needles” and “Free Radicals (A Hallucination of the Christmas Skeleton Pleading with a Suicide Bomber).”

the national (Sun, 7p, Honda)

The genre of lyrically driven music has a long and towering tradition; Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Neil Young pair affecting poetry with moving music to capture the politics, relationships, emotions and movements of the times. The National’s Matt Berninger is keeping this tradition alive brilliantly, crooning or growling where appropriate as brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Bryan and Scott Devendorf set evocative scenes for his voice to wander through. The group formed back in 1999, but their breakthrough came with 2005’s Alligator and its critically-acclaimed follow up in 2007, Boxer.The National just released their fifth studio album, High Violet, in May. Many of the songs on this record have already become favorites for fans at live performances, and the group’s television debut of High Violet’s “Terrible Love” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon received universal praise. Berninger is a powerful front man, singing with force and truth to swirling, enveloping guitar melodies and sharp, heavy and driving drums to create a devastating musical experience.