Having seen Zola Jesus last April at the smaller Billiken Club (where there couldn’t have been more than 30 people in the venue), I thought I already knew what to expect. But last night’s show definitely upped the ante. Starting with placing three LED cube-pods into the darkened stage and bringing in violinist Christiana Key to be part of the band, Zola Jesus‘s set blended in a mix of the theatrical with Ms. Danilova’s always amazing and incredible powerful pipes. Whether it be shimmering on stage, climbing on a stool to sing or dissolving into the packed crowd, Zola had the audience’s breathless attention. I feel for those unlucky few who were stranded in the back missing out on the performance.

Talk Normal opened the show and while I wasn’t familiar with them before tonight, I sure will be keeping my eye on them now after seeing their performance. Talk Normal are Andrya Ambro and Sarah Register, two girls playing noise rock. The frenetic tribal drumming of Ambro and sonic howls of Register had me and the rest of the early crowd mesmerized. At one point, Register brought out a screwdriver and used it to barre and slide the strings of her guitar to create sonic dissonance.

Photo gallery from the show, as well as an up-close (and very dimly-lit) video of Zola Jesus performing Lick the Palm of the Burning Handshake embedded below:

Not much is known about the duo, not even their real names. Hiding behind internet anonymity, all we know about the band is that they have released an EP late last year under British label, The Sounds of Sweet Nothing.

As one of SXSW’s showcasing artists, we are guaranteed to find out more about Tashaki Miyaki in the coming weeks (as well as answer the most pressing question – who’s Tashaki? And who’s Miyaki?) Looking forward to hearing more from these two.

Check out the beautiful black and white videos shot for their two songs, Somethin for Nothin and Get It Right. You can also stream their whole EP, which is embedded below.

If you were a fan of Austra and of Maya, you will most likely enjoy Trust as well (Robert sings lead here). There’s less of the operatic theatrics of Austra in Trust‘s music and more of a chilling synthy groove. You can almost feel a foreboding sense of doom as you wallow in its maws.

Check out the disturbing video for Candy Walls, as well as the stream for album closer Sulk past the creepy album cover art below.

Trust – Trst comes out 2/28 via Arts & Crafts (order here)

Sulk

Denise Nouvion, who does photography on the side, channels the lovely gentleness of her photos into the songs she sing. She serves as the chanteuse to Evan Abelee’s compositions. Her voice clearly and brightly shining through the hazy dreamscape that Abelee has built.

The Slidshow Effect is an excellent debut of a record. It is perfect for those who long to unearth memories of their past and those who still chase after dreams of lost and forgotten loves. Check out the lovely cinematic videos for songs Heirloom and Bonfire below. The album is streaming in full right now at Spin’s website.

Memoryhouse – The Slideshow Effect comes out 2/28 via Subpop (order here)

Fiona just announced a small, intimate 6 venue tour today over at her website. It’s been 5 long years since her last tour, and even longer when she headlined (last time was as support for Nickel Creek). Hopefully, this is a sign of bigger things to come. We already know a new album is imminent this year.

I’m staring very hard right now at that 3/19 Chicago date.

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At around 5:30PM ET, a cryptic message went up on Fiona Apple‘s facebook page. All it said was:

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 – 7 AM ET

New album?? Tour announcements?? We know she is playing Pitchfork’s SXSW showcase in Austin on Mar 15. Hopefully, this is the start of something more.

Considering how huge an influence Fiona and her music has on my life. This is a BIG, BIG deal. Tuesday can’t come SOON enough.

My favorite Fiona song and music video below.

Their sophomore album, Rooms Filled With Light, is built pretty much in the same way. Though not as immediate as its predecessor, the songs are just as harmonious. They have a slow-creeping pleasure quality to them that by the third time you listen to the record, you will feel like you have been listening to these songs all your life. And I meant that as a compliment.

The single Deconstruction, embedded below, pretty much fits what I described about Fanfarlo‘s music. Check it out along with Shiny Things and it’s creepy video. The whole album can also be streamed at NPR’s First Listen website.

Fanfarlo are visiting St Louis on 3/19 at the Duck Room in Blueberry Hill. Head on over to listen to some good orchestral pop and have your spirits lifted on a Monday night (tickets here)

Fanfarlo – Rooms Filled With Light comes out 2/28 via Canvasback (order here)

Reign of Terror is Sleigh Bell‘s follow-up album. While sophomore albums often have a hard time recreating the buzz of their predecessor, I actually enjoyed Reign of Terror a whole lot more.

Similar to Treats, Reign of Terror is that album you want blasting from the speakers of your car while cruising on the highway with the top down. The difference lies in the fact that this time, the whole album employs a little more melody into their songs, as opposed to just focusing on overwhelming you with the beats. In other words, there are a lot more Rill Rill in this album than A/B Machines. While this may disappoint some people, this is a very good development for me - Rill Rill is the song I enjoyed best from Treats.

The whole album is streaming right now at the New York Times website, so head over there to prepare your head-banging. Be sure to catch them also this Saturday as they perform live at the stage of Saturday Night Live. In the meantime, check out chugging singles Born To Lose and the utterly addictive Comeback Kid below.

Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror comes out 2/12 via Mom+Pop (order here)

Born To Lose

A note – this is not an all-comprehensive concert calendar, but rather a list of concerts that I recommend people check out. Bolded concerts are ones that I strongly recommend and/or am personally very excited about.

Updated: 02-21-2012

January

Jan 15 – Sat – Civil Wars – The Pageant
Jan 31 – Tues – Ryan Adams – Peabody Opera House
Jan 31 – Tues – This Will Destroy You – The Firebird

February

Feb 7 – Tues – Shearwater – Off Broadway
Feb 7 – Tues – Other Lives – Gramophone
Feb 8 – Wed – The Heartless Bastards – The Firebird + Vintage Vinyl (in-store performance)
Feb 10 – Fri – Craig Finn (Hold Steady) – Off Broadway
Feb 12 – Sun – Teengirl Fantasy – Gargoyle
Feb 23 – Thurs – Zola Jesus – Luminary Center for the Arts
Feb 27 – Mon – Polica – Old Rockhouse

March

Mar 1 – Thurs – Yacht – Plush
Mar 2 – Fri – Blind Pilot – Plush
Mar 2 – Fri – Bass Drum of Death – Old Rockhouse
Mar 9 – Fri – Radiohead – Scottrade Center
Mar 11 – Sun – Jenny Owen Youngs – Off Broadway
Mar 12 – Mon – Yellow Ostrich – Gramophone
Mar 19 – Mon – Fanfarlo – Blueberry Hill Duck Room
Mar 20 – Tues – Delta Spirit – Old Rockhouse
Mar 20 – Tues – EMA – Luminary Center for the Arts
Mar 22 – Thurs – Andrew Bird – The Pageant
Mar 24 – Sat – Ben Howard w/ The Staves (Communion Tour) – Old Rockhouse
Mar 25 – Sun – The Head and the Heart – The Pageant
Mar 27 – Tues – The Hive Dwellers – Luminary Center for the Arts
Mar 29 – Thurs – Young the Giant w/ Grouplove – The Pageant
Mar 30 – Fri – Ben Kweller w/ Sleeper Agent – Off Broadway
Mar 31 – Sat – Sharon Van Etten w/ The War on Drugs – Luminary Center for the Arts
Mar 31 – Sat – Miniature Tigers w/ The Chain Gang of 1974 – Off Broadway

April

Apr 1 – Sun – Bear in Heaven – Luminary Center for the Arts
Apr 3 – Tues – Youth Lagoon w/ Porcelain Raft – The Firebird
Apr 5 – Thus – Van Dyke Parks – Luminary Center for the Arts
Apr 5 – Thurs – White Rabbits – Plush
Apr 7 – Sat – White Denim – The Firebird
Apr 12 – Thurs – The Naked and Famous – Gargoyle
Apr 12 – Thurs – Abigail Washburn – Sheldon Concert Hall
Apr 18 – Wed – Cave Singers – Old Rockhouse
Apr 20 – Fri – Cursive w/ Cymbals Eat Guitars – Off Broadway
Apr 21 – Sat – Sleepy Sun w/ White Hills – Off Broadway
Apr 24 – Tues – Shabazz Palaces – Luminary Center for the Arts
Apr 27 – Fri – The Black Keys w/ Artic Monkeys – Chaifetz Arena
Apr 27 – Fri – Oberhofer – Luminary Center for the Arts
Apr 29 – Sun – Real Estate w/ The Twerps – Plush
Apr 29 – Sun – Portugal.The Man – The Pageant
Apr 29 – Sun – Florence and the Machine – Peabody Opera House
Apr 30 – Mon – Lotus Plaza – Luminary Center for the Arts

May

May 2 – Wed – M83 w/ I Break Horses – The Pageant
May 17 – Thurs – Active Child w/ Balam Acab – The Firebird
May 22 – Tues – Mayer Hawthorne & the County – The Firebird
May 24 – Thurs – Horse Feathers – The Firebird

June

June 4 – Mon – The Shins w/ The Antlers – The Pageant
Jun 9 – Sat – fun. – The Pageant

Boucher has described the style of music for Visions to be post-Internet. What it means – I have no idea. What I do know after listening to Visions is that it is a really promising and challenging record – full of synths and bass beats and dreamily psychedelic. There’s a looping hypnotism to the music punctuated by Boucher’s soaring vocals – a beacon of light amidst the swirling ether. If that’s what post-Internet is, I’ll gladly take it.

Take a listen to the two more poppier standout tracks, Genesis and Oblivion below.

Grimes – Visions comes out 2/21 via 4AD (order here)

Oblivion

This rise in popularity has followed them to these United States, especially after influential Seattle radio station KEXP filmed a live session of the band. So much so, in fact, that a bidding war among the labels emerged to sign the band. Universal, the winning label, have rushed published an EP (Into the Woods) last December in order to tide the fans over before releasing the band’s debut album this April. (The album, My Head is an Animal, was released in Iceland last year.)

Many people have favorably compared them to this year’s Mumford and Sons, both in their folkish leanings and meteoric rise in popularity. You can definitely hear bits of Mumford, bits of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, and bits of Arcade Fire in the band’s sounds, with the added strength of horns and accordions.

While a little bit derivative of the mentioned bands, Of Monsters and Men definitely bring joyous, communal, hand-clapping folk music with boy-girl harmonies – one that’s easy to listen to and guaranteed to make you smile and sing along.

Check out breakout track Little Talks and a live version of my favorite track, King and Lionheart below.