Every South By Southwest conference typically features more than a handful of bands whose ascent to the top of the pop charts seems potentially likely if not exactly a certainty.

Having seen the New Cassettes in full live-and-electric mode, I'm inclined to count the Northampton, England band among them.

A five-piece of young, enthusiastic rockers with a powerful live set and a crackling new album in Winterhead, New Cassettes have garnered significant critical acclaim in the homeland and have made significant Stateside inroads as well: there music has already been heard on Grey's Anatomy, Jersey Shore, I Just Wants My Pants Back and much more. And in 2012, those sort of breaks may be even more significant than limited play on radio's tired rock 'n' roll formats.

All this being said, here's a treat: An early morning private performance during Austin's SXSW conference by just two of the band's members, unusually in a raw acoustic performance. Though they were a tad nervous in this

Bahamas is the name under which which Toronto-based singer-songwriter Afie Jurvanen performs--which, all things considered, is a tad easier on the tongue than Madagascar or Rio De Janeiro--but the music he creates does not exactly seem geographic in origin. Instead, it offers up a mixture of coolness, emotional warmth, and, most notably, space. Space between notes, space between phrases, and, on occasion, space between people.

Sophisticated stuff, all of it, and it's amply on display via Barchords, the new Bahamas album on Brushfire Records.

The final session Y! Music would record while in Austin at this year's South By Southwest music conference, Jurvanen's performance was delightfully informal, featuring the guitarist, a percussionist (take a look at his instrument!), and two superb backing vocalists whose overall contributions were a wonder to hear.

Jurvanen is sharp--an interesting interview with an equally interesting musical pedigree--but above all else, his music is one

One of the most talented and adept singer-songwriters out there working, blending humor, pathos and superb musicianship, Todd Snider is a wonder to behold.

At this year's South By Southwest music conference, ostensibly to promote his latest album Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables, the East Nashville-based Snider stopped by Y! Music's makeshift recording studio and proceeded to delight the entire crew both with his delightful performance as well as the warmth and personal candor displayed during his ensuing interview.

Snider's skills have long been evidenced by his consistently wonderful, occasionally deliciously quirky albums, but for those who haven't managed to catch a peek of him until now-you're in for a serious treat.

One of the single biggest benefits of the annual South By Southwest music conference is the sheer mass of fascinating artists--many of whom come from all corners of the world, gathered together and ready to be seen by music fans who perhaps face a limited travel budget.

One artist who does not come from so far is Ximena Sariñana, the highly talented young Mexican singer, whose latest album is self-titled and sung in English rather than the Spanish favored on her 2008 debut album Mediocre.

A strikingly talented young woman, the singer has a fascinating past, much of it the result of her parents being in the film industry: Her father is a film director and producer, and her mother a screenwriter. The singer herself is no stranger to the screen either; she was four years old when she first starting acting, and to date has appeared in 11 films and 3 telenovelas.

The singer's two Warner Brothers album may be linguistically diverse but similar in their sheer musicality: The show a thoughtful

One of the absolute highlights of the 2012 South By Southwest music conference--at least as far as Y! Music was concerned--was the robust, pop-infused sound of Brit band Jonquil.

Quite adept instrumentally, vocally in superb hands with keyboardist/vocalist Hugo Manuel, and oddly reminiscent of the better parts of '80s Britpop (though never less than fully contemporary sounding), the group have fashioned a wonderful pop recording with their new album Point Of Go. From Oxford, England, the band claim an intriguing array of artists as influences--and the richness of their recorded repertoire hints at significantly deep commercial potential.

The largest of this year's SXSW Bedroom Sessions, the Jonquil crew included two trumpet players, who thoughtfully--at least as far as our audio engineer was concerned--directed their blasts toward the room curtains to attain the proper sonic balance our informal recordings set-up required.

If you've yet to hear Jonquil, we suspect you'll be quite

From falling in love to falling apart, Midnight Hour's catchy SoCal alt-rock runs the gamut of emotions to fit wherever your swelling, wandering, or black heart may lie.

Hailing from Orange County, California, Midnight Hour formed in 2006 and became whole with a lineup of lead singer Brad Lodge, guitarists Tim Johnson and James Mitchell, bassist Jared Mitchell, and drummer Dan Ardis. Their first single "Running Away" spread like wildfire and the band quickly gained traction. But what's most interesting is that their debut album was successfully financed by a Kickstarter page, surpassing their goal by thousands, with some backers pledging $1,500 each. Oh, the power of the internet and a loyal fanbase! Since, their videos have generated over a million hits, garnered over 500 fan videos on YouTube, and of course, tons of buzz.

With their striking pairing of loud/soft and boy/girl--two contrasts that have often worked exceptionally well in pop music--new duo Big Deal have managed to create one of the more memorable and evocative debut albums in recent memory.

Though the duo--Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe--have respective roots in California and Britain, their appealing sonic blend has origins that seem less geographic than strikingly personal. Lights Out, their recent Mute Records debut, has a charm that anyone anywhere--at least anyone who's had a memorable personal relationship with another--will likely relate to.

Formed in the UK, the band have made their mark singing about the volatility of passion--or the lack of it--all the while blending soft acoustic guitars with loud, heavily distorted ones off in the distance. It's an appealing sound, offering up both innocence and cynicism at once--and, for a comparatively new band, they sound remarkably older than their years.

Y! Music spoke with the band at

If there are certain albums that had a cultural impact far beyond their overall sales figures, the debut album by Cardinal--released in 1994 by the duo of Eric Matthews and Richard Davies--counts highly among them.

Coming at a time when grunge, for better or worse, had come to dominate the rock 'n' roll scene, the textured and melodic work of Matthews and Davies provided almost precisely its conceptual opposite: melodies, harmonies, exotic instrumentation, sophisticated arrangements, songs that evoked the undersung classic sound of the early Bee Gees, the Left Banke and other pop greats, all oozing with sincerity, very little irony, and an obvious love for the pure form of pop music. Those who heard it loved it--very much so--and, for better or worse, a new genre called "orchestral pop" was coined to describe their work.

But Cardinal was a short-lived affair. Matthews and Davies soon went their separate ways, each releasing highly regarded solo albums, and the former band soon took on