CAN YOU FEEL IT.

Headed into SX there were already a few bands destined to be the talk of the town come week's end - Walk The Moon, Foster The People and James Blake all come to mind - but for us the real superstars of SXSW 2011 were Athens, Georgia's own Reptar. Their People Are Cool Y'all EP from late 2010 was already one of our absolute favorite releases of the past 12 months (honestly, it's kind of a masterpiece), but the live show is where they really bring the magic. This is furious pop music, like Isaac Brock fronting Passion Pit under the watchful eye of Animal Collective, and the controlled chaos of the live show is a beautiful sight to behold.

Anyone who didn't make it out west to Austin last week needn't look further than the BRILLIANTLY boisterous "Houseboat Babies" to see what all the fuss is about - it's the kind of track that immediately transports you back to that "one krrrAaaaAaaaAzy summer," even if yours hasn't happened yet. It's just that good. Coincidentally (or maybe not so), the plucky vocal samples that give the song it's backbone takes on a serious Mark Mothersbaugh vibe, not a million miles away from the theme song to Rugrats (from which the band take their amazing name). Those samples, paired with the exuberant call and response of "Can you feel it? / Yes I can feel it!" set the track up to be one of the biggest partystarters of 2011, the kind of invincible anthem that just makes you sigh "ahhh youth" and then dance until dawn. So yeah Reptar, we can feel it.

MP3: "Houseboat Babies" - Reptar

THIS HOUSE IS FALLING APART.

We hit Vegas for the bank holiday last weekend, and while listening to The Killers as we cruised into the Sin City was a little too cliche even for us, we found the next best thing in Walk The Moon via our friends at All Things Go. Formed in 2009 in Cincinnati over a mutual love of Local Natives and Animal Collective, they combine the nowhere town ambition and anthemic hooks of their aforementioned Sam's Town forefathers with an endearing Midwestern charm and a knack for addictive pop melodies. "Anna Sun" is the triumphant lead single off of their 2010 self-released full length debut i want! i want!, and with its stadium-sized chorus and brilliant accompanying music video it's one of the biggest songs we've heard from an unsigned band in an age, the kind of stuff British A&R dreams and major label bidding wars are made of. The band play NYC tonight at 9pm at Pianos, any A&R's who aspire to be good at their jobs might want to be in attendance.

MP3: "Anna Sun" - Walk The Moon

ROUND ROUND ROUND.

Somewhere between the frantic energy of Animal Collective and the shouty brilliance of Isaac Brock lie LA (via Greece and NYC) kids GROUP, who look set to make a considerable name for themselves in the West Coast indie scene as they put the finishing touches on their self-titled debut EP. "Colours" is their debut offering, all big driving guitars, anthemic choruses and frontman Christian Zucconi's triplicate lyrics and mad man delivery coming together to create a truly unique sound that's garnering them serious buzz among A&R's coast to coast. It's been a while since we've heard such a refreshing sound coming from the fairer coast, so get involved and keep your ear to the ground for more from the LA collective in the months to come.

MP3: "Colours" - GROUP [exclusive]

NOTHING I CAN DO.

We've had our mouths wired shut about but this one for a few months now, but now that word seems to be out we might as well join the party. This whole lo-fi renaissance is hardly our favorite thing going on in music right now, but then a rough gem like Oberhofer comes along and all is well in the world again. We saw the rough beginnings of his live show last December, and then again last month playing with Keepaway at Webster Studio, where he blew us away with the leaps and bounds of progress he'd made in barely two months time. Then there's the fact that his handmade 7-track EP hasn't left the office stereo for months and it's safe to say we're pretty way into this. "I Could Go" is our favorite track of the bunch, but "Away Frm U" is the clear-cut single here, combining all the best bits of Modest Mouse and Animal Collective while the 19 year old Tacoma native yelps and strums his way to 4ish minutes of lo-fi pop brilliance. Special stuff, this Oberhofer.

MP3: "Away Frm U" - Oberhofer