posted by Matt on April 14, 2012
This was my second year at SXSW for Indieball, and Patrick and I went a little bit overboard with preparation — between us, we listened to and rated hundreds of tracks (me, about 700, him, more) to inform our schedule. Of course, it mostly went out the window upon arrival in Austin — the photo above is one of nine pages of shows for Friday alone. This is what I love and hate about SXSW. The beauty is that there is so much to see and hear that you don’t have to worry that you won’t find a show, but on the other hand, the schedule can almost be paralyzing, and trying to juggle the shows that you really want to see almost feels like a futile effort when you realize that all of the ratings that you agonized over may not exactly be the best predictor of how exciting any individual 25-40 minutes of live music will be. But I digress, and if anything in what you just read gives you the impression that there’s anywhere else that I’d rather be for a weekend of music, perish the thought. It’s a spectacle the likes of which I’ve never seen anywhere else.
Between day parties and official showcases, I saw approximately thirty bands, some familiar, some not. Over the next few months, you can look forward to hearing about a lot of them here — there weren’t very many total misses! My favorite shows, in no particular order, except for the first one, which really was the best:
Team Me
Fanfarlo
Delicate Steve
Polica
I am Oak
Talking to Turtles
Typhoon
Quiet Company
Youth Lagoon
Razika
Blitzen Trapper
For today, check out this track from Talking to Turtles, a duo from Leipzig, Germany that played a spellbinding set in St. David’s Bethel Hall. And for more SXSW favorites, check out the recaps from Patrick and John.
Talking To Turtles – Wonky Cradle (Downloaded 83 times)
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» Meaningless labels: SXSW2012
(2 votes)
Loading ...posted by Matt on November 22, 2011
Portland’s Spy Island recall Apples in Stereo and the New Pornographers, combining exquisite pop arrangements with at times impenetrable lyrics. Occasional head-scratching doesn’t take anything away from the final product, though. Leads Dale Nicholls and Lucy Martin sing together in a perfect non-harmony harmony, and crisp, catchy hooks and ear-catching flourishes abound (there’s some nice organ, piano and slide guitar work here). New Milesian Kings is the band’s third full length, scheduled for release on January 24 — you can find it, along with their (highly recommended) earlier releases, at spyisland.bandcamp.com or spyisland.wantstogiveyou.com
Spy Island – The Punchline (Downloaded 163 times)
Spy Island – Lonely Accomplice (Downloaded 183 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Beautiful Lyrics • Big Sound • Female vocal • Folky • Male vocal
(7 votes) Loading ...posted by Matt on April 17, 2011
Stolen Jars started as a solo project for Cody Fitzgerald, 18, hailing from Montclair, NJ. He composed and recorded the music himself and then recruited friends (Magdalena Bermudez and John-Elio Reitman) to sing with him. As Magdalena lived in Massachusetts, many of the songs were recorded by taking a page from the Postal Service playbook and sending recordings through the internet. With a full album under his belt (self-released March 26), Cody is now playing live shows in the New York/New Jersey area with a group of friends (Jonah Fried, Sam Skinner, Molly Grund and Elena Juliano) and his trusty loop pedal. I haven’t heard the live show, but the album sure is great — incredibly impressive for a first effort. Intricate, layered guitar and bouzouki work, ethereal, dirty harmonies and a few handclaps thrown in for good measure. Check out the energy on these two tracks — “Stitches” and “Driving” — and look for more from Stolen Jars on myspace or bandcamp.
Stolen Jars – Stitches (Downloaded 814 times)
Stolen Jars – Driving (Downloaded 378 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Female vocal • Lo-Fi • Male vocal
(31 votes) Loading ...posted by Matt on April 3, 2011
The Head and the Heart at Lustre Pearl, SXSW 2011. Photo by Leigh Celent.
One of the best shows that I saw at SXSW this year was an accident. Patrick and I decided to park for the night at Antone’s after some delicious Korean fried rice from a food truck on 5th Street (seriously, get the egg on top.) Okkervil River was headlining and we were both interested in seeing Yellow Ostrich as well. But all that anyone standing in line to get in wanted to talk about was the first act on the bill–The Head and the Heart–who hails from my home town of Seattle but whom, to my chagrin, I had never heard of. Kind of folk-y, I was told. Is the wisdom of the line ever wrong? They certainly weren’t here –the Head and the Heart’s six piece band is anchored by three vocalists (Josiah Johnson, Jon Russell and Charity Thielen) whose beautiful tripartite harmonies are grounded by a piano and a heavy beat. The lyrics are at times hopeful and at times wistful, but never overwrought. The band performs together masterfully–from soft acoustic harmonies to solid driving bass, they were controlled but so clearly having a great time that the crowd was entranced.
May you have such fortune should you head to Austin, and in the meantime, check out The Head and the Heart if they are playing near you. Their 2010 self-titled and self-released EP is set for re-release on Sub Pop on April 16th. In the meantime, you can get a taste of The Head and the Heart live from their KEXP set–in an Austin bike shop–below.
p.s. While Antone’s was not ultimately my favorite venue at SXSW (that prize goes to a church), I want to give a shout out to venues that set up their stages such that the crowd is broad and shallow as opposed to long and narrow, if that makes any sense. The result at Antone’s was that more of the crowd was able to see the enthusiasm in the facial expressions of all of the artists on stage, making even a mediocre performance (which this was most definitely not) more enjoyable.
The Head and the Heart – Down In The Valley (Downloaded 452 times)
The Head and the Heart – Lost In My Mind (Downloaded 700 times)
The Head and the Heart – Live at SXSW 2011 (KEXP show) (Downloaded 184 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Big Sound • Folk • Harmonic • Male vocal
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April 17th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
really good actually! kinda like dirty projects with smidge of animal collective
April 20th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
This is really awesome… Reminds me of Tune-Yards. Except with more people and a sense of urgency to the songs.
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:01 pm
This band is so good. I keep on listening to the intricate sounds. I definitely hear the Dirty Projectors influence, but perhaps a bit more ethereal.
May 15th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Just saw them today in Montclair, really enjoyed the sound. Def going to see them in NY on Fri.
August 10th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Oh, and I did lose someone in the towers.