Kevin Bronson on March 19th, 2015

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Years & Years, Rangleklods, Lieutenant, the Vaccines, Circa Waves, Broncho

RIYL: Sticky synth-pop, smoke and mirrors and … nervous laughter?

London electro-poppers Years & Years brought an enormous buzz and even more gear to the South by Southwest Music Festival, and if their first show Wednesday night (only their second in the U.S.) was a mess, few seemed to care. You can get a lot of mileage these days out of backing tracks and charm, especially with songs like “King” and “Desire.”

The trio of singer-keyboardist Olly Alexander, bassist Mikey Goldsworthy and synth player Emre Turkmen, playing with a live drummer, brought enough circuitry to the Cedar Door to power a space station and had problems getting it all in synch. They finally went on 45 minutes late, with the fresh-faced Alexander punctuating his apologies with nervous laughter. “Live music, guys,” he said with a giggle, although how much of what they did play was “live” remained in question.

No matter. Many in the capacity crowd knew every word to every song in the quartet’s truncated, six-song set, and Alexander, dressed like he just came from a workout, flashed some winning dance moves to go along with his pristine voice. All very Disclosure-like, all very directed at the young women in the front three rows with selfie sticks and big smiles.

The band makes its Los Angeles debut next week at a show that was quickly moved from It’s a School Night at Bardot to the much larger Avalon because of demand. Ostensibly, Years & Years — who, by the way, announced on Wednesday that their debut album “Communion” would be out June 22 — will have the kinks worked out by then. But they scotched a second show they had scheduled for later Wednesday night at SXSW, so there is work to be done.

No less reliant on circuitry but less troublesome were Denmark’s whimsically named Rangleklods, who performed at the Reeperbahn Festival at the German Haus as part of their first run of North American shows. The synth-pop duo of Pernille Smith-Sivertsen and Esben Anderson shaped their sound while in Berlin, and its gothy tones and sturdy beats are played against glossy melodies. Smith-Sivertsen’s rich baritone recalls any number of post-punk greats from the ’80s; Anderson’s cooing is the perfect complement. And thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of formula in Rangleklods’ set, but shades of a lot of different forms of electronic music.

Later, at the Dine Alone Records showcase at the Bungalow, Lieutenant — the solo venture of Nate Mendel (currently a member of Foo Fighters and once of emo greats Sunny Day Real Estate) — played songs from their recent debut “If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going to Eat for a Week.” The album juggles influences from Mendel’s past and modern-rock present, and the band’s performance showcased their no-B.S. prowess, even if it might have been too genial for its own good. Still can’t get enough of the song “Belle Epoque,” though.

And the late-night sets at some of the uber-hip bars along Austin’s Rainey Street were heaven for fans of guitar bands. There were quick stops for Broncho (even better than they were last year) at the Dine Alone party, cherub Liverpudlans Circa Waves and their “Young Chasers” at the Blackheart; and a long, physical session with the Vaccines at the Clive Bar.

The Vaccines still rock, by the way. It seems like only yesterday that the Londoners were making their U.S. debut, and they’ve backed up their initial hype with two fine albums. Their midnight set to a crowd dominated by some well-lubricated countrymen did not disappoint — they launched into it with a vicious “Teenage Icon,” inspired a superfan sing-along with “Wetsuit” and played some songs from their forthcoming third album “English Graffiti” (out May 26). Included were “Handsome,” “Dream Lover” and, notably, the groove-heavy “Want U So Bad,” which makes you think they might have been listening to some R&B before making the new album in upstate New York.

Frontman Justin Young looked the Austin part, bearded and clad in a Western shirt embroidered with red roses. Perfect for wreckin’ the bar.