It really shouldn’t be so surprising that great music is coming out of Nashville, but I’ve just heard another Infinity Cat band — Natural Child — whose garage rock-y songs will not get out of my head (especially “Dogbite”.) Like label mates Jeff the Brotherhood and Heavy Cream, Natural Child has a young, energetic, no pretenses vibe that is really refreshing.

Natural Child

Another band that I’ve been obsessed with is Teengirl Fantasy, two (male) Oberlin College students whose effervescent, dreamy, house-infused dance music is the perfect late-night soundtrack. They have a great live show, play a lot in New York, and have already started gaining a lot of attention. They are definitely one of my favorite acts of 2009.

Teengirl Fantasy

The biggest thing I’m excited about this year in music is the festival (hopefully) happening in March in Monterrey, Mexico that will clip the tail end of SXSW. Organized by the (arguably) taste-making New York promoter Todd P and friends, the musical festival in Mexico will be held in an abandoned drive-in movie theater, about three hours south of Austin. People will camp out in a tent city for the duration of the 2-3 day festival, which will supposedly feature a mix of 80 or so American and Mexican bands. According to an interview, Todd P isn’t interested in booking showcases at SXSW anymore, which he thinks “kind of blows.” Details have yet to be released, but I’m hoping that it happens!