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Mar 21, 2010 SXSW 2010 By Mike Hilleary

Because sleep is a terrible thing to waste and early morning flight departures have no remorse, the last notes on this year’s SXSW will try to be as brief as possible, opting for a more straight forward focus: the bands and artists that should be on your must listen list if they aren’t already.

Local Natives: Playing nine shows in three days, these recent signees of Frenchkiss came away with the best performances of the festival (at least from this given perspective), pounding through the material off their debut album Gorilla Manor with infectious percussion and powerful vocal harmonies.

Fanfarlo: Making use of everything from violin, trumpet, clarinet, and mandolin on top of the standard fare of guitar, bass and drums this London-based collective of multi-instrumentalists evoked the communal energy of Arcade Fire and the pop sensibilities of Sufjan Stevens and Neutral Milk Hotel. Having only heard a few songs beforehand, obtaining their debut Reservoir has become a top priority.

The Love Language: Previously held within the constraints of lo-fi production quality, singer/songwriter Stuart McLamb, a recent addition to the Merge label, has hit his stride with his latest batch of material, finding a successful mix of fuzzy pop hooks and full-on studio counterbalance. His upcoming record Libraries is one to look out for later this year.

She and Him: Despite enduring a much-maligned sound check experience, a darkly lit stage, and innumerable flashes of light from cameras, M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel still managed to put together a pleasant set of songs featuring material off their upcoming record Volume Two. Between Ward’s guitar chops and Deschanel’s inscrutable adorability, it was hard nit-pick against them.

Greg Laswell: A songwriter so good you could care less how many times Grey’s Anatomy options his material, Laswell was worth chasing from one venue to the next when tardy attendance resulted in a missed opportunity. With nothing more than guitar and limited timeframe, he left quite a impression for upcoming album Take A Bow.

Having now experienced SXSW, it is rather appropriate the destination of home is NXNE. Here’s to a sound return.