SXSW 2012 Records

Fanfarlo

For a band with only one LP, Fanfarlo managed to set rigid fan expectations for its sophomore release. 2009 debut Reservoir was a joyful ode to life and the pleasures of simply being. The English/Swedish pop-folk combo mixed the attitude of dusty-trail travelers with the energy of Wales' Los Campesinos!. Rooms Filled With Light, the quintet's long-awaited follow-up, is lighter on the pop and heavier on ornamentation but keeps enough of the playful antics that garnered the first album such popularity. Opener "Replicate" provides an exaggerated preview of the album, staccato violin dominating the first minute with little more than subtle keyboard quips before finally lapsing into soaring lines. The rest of the tracks never reach that level of delicacy, but Fanfarlo nevertheless succeeds, taking its newfound sophistication from New Wave to orchestral. (Thu., 10pm, Club de Ville; Fri., 2pm, Radio Day Stage, Austin Convention Center; Sat., 10pm, Hype Hotel)