Califone, Ken Vandermark’s Powerhouse Sound, The Twilight Sad, Voxtrot, William Parker Quartet

CALIFONE
No mater the time or place, Califone can create a musical experience with its roots in the past and its sights on the future. The songs hardly ever walk a straight line; almost always there are twists and turns behind each word sung by Tim Rutili, but sometimes, just sometimes, there’s a glimmer of light that shines through to ease the tension. The group’s latest album, Roots & Crowns (2006), revealed a sense of peace that wasn’t really discernible all of the time. It was like having a friend who never opened their bedroom window blinds until it was night finally open them during the day. Just once you’d like to see your friend give the sun a chance. That being said, Califone truly embraces the human kaleidoscope with all its imperfections; one might find shade in the shadows just as another might find uncertainty in the light. (Saturday, 1:30-2, Aluminum Stage) –text: Chris Castaneda–photo: Chris Strong

KEN VANDERMARK’S POWERHOUSE SOUND
So basically Ken Vandermark is the hardest-working saxophonist in the universe. When you check out his website and try and sort through the numerous groups and projects that he has been involved with, you can’t help but wonder how he still has time to eat or do laundry. Not to mention the fact that he definitely has his ear to the streets in regard to keeping improvised music fresh, relevant and exceedingly enjoyable. (Saturday, 1-2, Balance Stage) –text: Billy Kenefick–photo: Joel Wanek

THE TWILIGHT SAD
Upon first listen, it’s hard to believe Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters (FatCat) is The Twilight Sad’s first full-length. With the fifth listen, it’s downright mind-boggling: This may be one of the best debut records to come out in years. Glasgow’s The Twilight Sad are a miserable bunch, with solemn songs that start off timid and explode into triumphantly angry anthems. The soft Scottish-accented lyrics speak of heartbreak, ruined relationships and lonely childhood memories but the music itself backlashes on such demons, as if saying, “I don’t give a shit anymore, I’m moving on.” Many of the songs get unexpectedly loud and lead man James Graham isn’t afraid to make his throat bleed. At a recent show in Chicago, Graham alternated between staring off at the drum kit behind him, barely moving and flailing about in fits of rage taken out mostly on the mic stand and the hypnotized crowd. Should be even better with a bigger stage and bigger audience. (Saturday, 1-1:30, Connector Stage) –text: Sharyn Goldyn–photo: Javier Villegas

VOXTROT
In 2006, this Austin-based quintet became the buzz band of SXSW resulting from two EPs at the time: Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives and Raised by Wolves. For most bands, hype quickly dissipates and/or the band rarely lives up to expectations. After another EP, Your Biggest Fan at the end of last year, the guys finally went into the studio to record their debut longplayer. In May, they released their self-titled collection of 11 twee tracks featuring Ramesh Srivastava’s cloying vocal delivery. By the spring, the buzz and attention to the album had faltered a little. A minor setback (Pitchfork gave the record a middling 5.9), they still deliver classic Voxtrot with the infectious “Kid Gloves.” In concert, Voxtrot is another entity. Srivastava jumps around the stage on an imaginary pogo stick triggering a call and response from the audience. While buzz bands and Pitchfork go together like hipsters and the Rainbo, I’d be more concerned with watching out for Srivastava’s flying sweat. (Saturday, 2-3, Connector Stage) –text: Garin Pirnia–photo: Rebecca Miller

WILLIAM PARKER QUARTET
‘Expressive’ seems a given in describing jazz. But William Parker’s music embodies it. Known primarily as a bassist and composer, Parker’s been creating distinctive jazz for decades using an array of instruments as a solo artist and with numerous ensembles including The Curtis Mayfield Project and In Order to Survive. His sound constantly strays from ordinary. Spend a little time in the midst of the William Parker Quartet to hear some truly inspired contemporary jazz. (Saturday, 2-3:10, Balance Stage) –text: Jen Fischer–photo: Susan O’Connor

120 Days, The Presets, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Voxtrot

120 DAYS
Oslo, Norway may be snow-blanketed, but when there’s electrifying electronic music blasting from the mountains, warmth radiates. 120 Days is the latest band to emerge from the arctic tundra of Scandinavia. The quartet’s self titled debut is filled with krautrock inclinations and heavy synths with rock components mixed in. The opening track is the longwinded “Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone),” an epic adventure of a track ebbing and flowing before becoming trance-inducing. 120 Days’ music at first seems repetitive and fragmented, but the pieces coalesce together rhythmically and vocally. A few of the tracks hint at hedonism and escapism, as displayed on “Sleepwalking”: “I can dance this night away/ Take me somewhere else and make me feel okay.” The closing song “I’ve Lost My Vison” clocks in at 11 minutes, with the semblance of Can peaking through. 120 Days pilfer from the best artists but record their own original sonic visions. (Appearing for the late show at Empty Bottle on Nov. 4) –text: Garin Pirnia

THE PRESETS
The Presets know how to milk a great song. So well, in fact, that the Australian duo of Julian Hamilton and Kimberley Moyes have parlayed a few tracks into hits twice. As members of the avant-garde group Prop, the pair garnered acclaim throughout their home country with a reputation for noisy experimentation. But it wasn’t until they remixed their own band’s songs as edgier, dance-floor ditties under their current moniker that the two found a niche. While they succeeded before as vanguard noisemakers, the pair now flourishes as sexy beatsmiths. With a propensity for turning clamorous background sounds into groove-friendly focal points, The Presets’ seductively raunchy debut, Beams, is as much a thing for sweaty clubs as it is for sweaty bedrooms. And what better way to blur the line between the two than with thunderous bass drops and mechanical handclaps? Even if this is the duo’s second time around. (Appearing with The Rapture at Metro on Nov. 5) –text: Derek Wright

SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS
They sing that “living like a refugee is not easy,” but Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars deliver a message of hope through joyful sounding rhythms and enthusiastic song — reconfirming, yet again, the healing qualities of music. Established in a Guinea refugee camp by Reuben M. Korama and other displaced citizens of Sierra Leone’s long-lasting civil war, the group traveled camp to camp, and now worldwide, in order to raise awareness of the conflict while lifting spirits with their personal experiences translated into song. Not only is the mission noble — the music is addicting. It beckons sounds from reggae, blues, traditional African, and even surfer music. Following the acclaimed documentary of their work, The Refugee All Stars, the group’s first full-length album, Living Like a Refugee, was recently released on the Anti label. In a world where so much art is self-serving, this is truly music that matters. (Appearing at Martyrs’ on Nov. 4) –text: Jen Fischer–photo: Jane Richey

VOXTROT
Pop music usually carries a negative connotation, but when done right, pop music sounds like Voxtrot. The Austin, Texas quartet had a hometown advantage at this year’s SXSW festival and gained considerable buzz through the blogosphere with two self-released EPs entitled Raised By Wolves and Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives. This month the group releases yet another EP on the Playlouder label called Your Biggest Fan. Voxtrot’s music is ebullient pop influenced by the Smiths and Of Montreal. Some of their songs (like “Sway”) display a melancholy edge, but “Rise Up In Dirt” and “Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives” thrive on pop perfection and infection. Lead singer Ramesh Srivastava subscribes to the Morrissey school of falsetto on “Your Biggest Fan”, pontificating: “There’s a right way to fall in love.” A full-length is due sometime in the new year but until then, Voxtrot has given fans enough effusive tracks to feed the iPod. (Appearing with Canasta at Empty Bottle on Nov. 5) –text: Garin Pirnia