SXSW 2014: The Strypes

Not far from Rainey St. at the Palm Door by the Convention Center is another day party with some good bands.  This one is the "Next Big Thing" coming out of the U.K.  The hype is huge.  A bunch of kids that wowed Elton John and have signed with Mercury Records.

Jake Bugg is channeling the Beatles so I guess we need the next Rolling Stones.  Here they are.

Got Love if You Want It

SXSW 2014: Sylvan Esso

Another electronic-focused band (at least on this song) playing the Blackheart on Friday is a duo comprised of a singer from Mountain Man (who we saw at Buffalo Billiards during SXSW 2010) and a musician from Megafaun.

This is a nice mellow song.

Coffee

SXSW 2014: Public Service Broadcasting

Since I'm getting complaints from my loyal reader that I'm not posting enough here you go. I'll cover a few things going on Friday.  It seems to work best on Friday and Saturday to concentrate on one area and just bar hop around there instead of trying to cover a lot of ground.  One option for Friday is the Rainey Street area.

This band is playing Blackheart along with Bob Mould, Wye Oak, Speedy Ortiz, and Eagulls.  Most of the rest are more rock-oriented but this band is electronic-focused.  It's a duo out of London.  Their Wikipedia page states: "They take samples from old public information films, archive footage and propaganda material, attempting to 'teach the lessons of the past through the music of the future.'"  This song teaches us about Everest.

Reminds me of old M83, or Air.  Pretty cool I think.  Nice mellow start to the day.

Everest

SXSW 2014: Lucius

Moving on to Thursday I assume we'll be going to the Heartbreaker Banquet.  I'm really excited to see Hooray for the Riff Raff, who play the Chapel Stage.  We'll need to get in line early to see them.

I'll cover some of the newer bands first.  Lucius is an indie-pop band with two female lead-singers.  They formed in Boston but are now in Brooklyn.  They were in town for a sold out show in January at the Parish.

This is a nice song.  I'll embed the video of another song, "Go Home", which shows their range.

Until We Get There

SXSW 2014: Speedy Ortiz

Going for the "most SXSW shows in a week" award is a band out of Northampton, MA.  They're playing everywhere it seems.  The first chance to see them is at Waterloo Records on Wednesday, which also has Hospitality playing right after them.

Kind of a more mainstream Pixies sound.

American Horror

SXSW 2014: Tove Lo

Another potential pop star.  She's from Sweden.  Playing the Spotify House Tuesday and the Windish Agency party at the Mohawk on Friday.

Jungle and Future Islands are also playing Spotify House Tuesday.

Habits

SXSW 2014: Jetta

Time to start planning for the day parties.  First up is Monday (yep, they're starting early this year).  Spotify House has bands every day and most have major label exposure.  Jetta is a Liverpool-born, London-based future pop star.  She's also playing the Filter Party at Clive Bar and the Universal Music party at the Palm Door on 6th (formerly The Stage on 6th and the Radio Room and ...)  All the big gigs.

Feels Like Coming Home

SXSW 2014: Pony Boy

The other choice for Friday night is probably the most-likely option.  It's at the Creekside at the Hilton Garden Inn.  All the bands are Americana/country/folk.  Probably a good mellow choice since we'll be close to exhaustion by Friday night.  Kristy Kruger is on the bill and this band plays after her.

Pony Boy is the moniker of L.A. based Marchelle Bradanini.  I like this song.

One Man Show

SXSW 2014: Woman's Hour

Also on the Friday Red Eye Fly showcase is another band out of the UK.  Light indie-pop sound.  This song is wonderful.

Her Ghost

SXSW 2014: Tomas Barfod

Probably the best showcase on Friday is the Secretly Canadian Records show at Red Eyed Fly.  Getting into any venue along Red River on Friday is a challenge, though.

First up is Tomas Barfod from Copenhagen.  Electronic/dance beats.

Pulsing

SXSW 2014: Bear's Den

Moving on to the Friday showcases I'll start with the one at St. David's. It has Tennis, Sam Smith, and Vance Joy.  The opening band is out of London.  They've opened for Mumford and Sons.  Good Americana/Folk sound.

Pompeii

SXSW 2014: Promised Land Sound

Thursday has a really good showcase at Lambert's.   First up is the Barr Brothers who we saw at Mellow Johnny's a couple years ago.  The showcase also has Jessica Lea Mayfield but she doesn't play until midnight. I think we'll have to see her at a day party.

Playing at 9pm is a band out of Nashville.  They are on Jack White's Third Man Records.  This song is really good.  Reminds me of Son Volt mixed with Gram Parsons.

Fadin' Fast

SXSW 2014: Sam Smith

Another act playing the KCRW showcase on Wednesday is probably going to be the biggest breakout. He won the BBC Sound of 2014 poll and has exploded in the U.K.  This song wasn't released until Feb. 16th but it has 1.5M listens on Soundcloud.  His album doesn't even come out until May 26th, on Capitol Records.

Suffice it to say, he's going to be huge.

Money on My Mind

SXSW 2014: The Bear

One more act for Wednesday at the Tap Room.  The Bear is fronted by a husband and wife but apparently also includes Ben Tanner from Alabama Shakes.  Upon further investigation Single Lock Records was formed by Tanner and Civil Wars' John Paul White.  That's some heavy indie-cred.

There's nothing on Soundcloud for The Bear so here's a video.  Reminds me of Alabama Shakes.

I Want

SXSW 2014: Belle Adair

Also at the Tap Room on Wednesday is a trio also out of Muscle Shoals.  Folky-rock/pop.  I'm having a hard time drawing comparisons to other bands but they are definitely in the wheel-house of the Americana genre.

Losing My Train

SXSW 2014: St. Paul and the Broken Bones

Since we probably won't get into the KCRW show a fallback is our old faithful: the Tap Room.  We always seem to see a good band there.  This year should be no exception.  The Wednesday showcase is from Single Lock Records, a label out of Muscle Shoals, AL.

First up is a band out of Birmingham that is making waves.  They are playing Bonnaroo and getting lots of buzz.  Their album was produced by Ben Tanner of Alabama Shakes.  Very similar to their sound.  Should be a good time.

Broken Bones & Pocket Change

No embedding so here's the video:

SXSW 2014: Future Islands

Also on the KCRW bill Wednesday is a band formed in Greenville, NC but now residing in Baltimore.  They just signed to 4AD and have a record coming out in March.  It looks like they're getting some buzz as they're on this bill and playing the Spotify House day party.

This is an older song of theirs.  It reminds me of 80s era Rod Stewart.

Balance

SXSW 2014: Jamestown Revival

The next band at the KCRW showcase Wednesday is a duo originally from Magnolia, TX who resided in Austin before moving to L.A.  They're listed as Austin-based on the schedule.

They've got a Lumineers/Dawes/Shovels and Rope thing going on.

California (Cast Iron Soul)

SXSW 2014: Kins

KCRW's Wednesday showcase at Haven is a SXSW staple. They always seem to have good bands.  Unfortunately they don't always let in the general public.  Badges and wristbands only. It's ridiculous that a publicly-funded radio station has an exclusionary admission policy.

First on the bill is Glass Animals, who are also playing Haven the night before.

Another Brighton band is up next.  Well, they're originally from Australia but now reside in Brighton.  Kind of a mix between Radiohead and Alt-J.  Their album is getting good reviews.

Post Tropical Storm

SXSW 2014: The Kooks

Next up at the Parish on Wednesday is a band from Brighton, East Sussex.  They have achieved quadruple platinum status in the U.K. and are big in Austrialia, too.  They've had decent success here in the States, last here playing with Foster the People (I won't hold that against them, yet) at the Backyard in 2012.  They also came through SXSW back in 2006 and played at Antone's in 2008.

This song reminds me a little of the Jake Bugg sound.  One critic called them a mix of Thin Lizzy and The Police.

She Moves in Her Own Way

SXSW 2014: Claire

The next band playing at Parish on Wednesday is from Munich, Germany.  This song reminds me of Naked and the Famous.  Their other hit, Games, reminds me of a mix between Chvrches and the XX.

They are signed to Capitol Records so they'll get the major label push.

Broken Promise Land

SXSW 2014: Lemâitre

There are a few options for Wednesday so I'll cover my first choice today.  Surprisingly, it's not the KCRW showcase.  This one is at the Parish.  It may be the NPR showcase.  It's heavy on international acts so maybe not.

This band is the main reason for going.  It's a duo from Oslo, Norway that has taken off in Europe and Australia.  This is their first trip to the U.S. and this will be their first show here.

I really like this song.  It reminds me of "Discovery" era Daft Punk.

Continuum

SXSW 2014: The Preatures

Other acts on the Tuesday Haven showcase are Glass Animals (who I previewed here) and Arthur Beatrice (who I previewed here) and breakout band BANKS (who I previewed here).  All those bands are from the U.K.  This one is from Sydney.  More poppy.

This song reminds me of a Prince song from the 80s.  Dance-worthy.

Is This How You Feel?

SXSW 2014: Syd Arthur

The Tuesday showcase at Haven is probably the one to catch if we go out Tuesday.  I'll preview Syd Arthur first.  They're out of the U.K. and remind me of Radiohead if they formed in the 60s.  Here's more on them.

Edge of the Earth

SXSW 2014: Wardell

After that break it's time to get serious about the previews.  I'll start with the Tuesday showcases.  Playing at Buffalo Billiards along with Madi Diaz and Avi Buffalo is this band made up of a brother and sister.  Oh, they're Steven Spielberg's kids.

Indie pop feel.  Kind of reminds me of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Opossum

SXSW 2014: Float Fall

This is a male-female duo from Belgium.  They're compared to the XX.  This song definitely sounds like them.

Someday

SXSW 2014: Mire Kay

Here are a couple mellow tunes for a dreary Tuesday.  First up is a duo from Sweden.  They're compared to First Aid Kit obviously.  They're getting some buzz thanks to that.

If we want to see them we'll probably want to find a quiet venue.  Quite mellow.

Reverse

SXSW 2014: Little Boots

A nice dance-pop song from Victoria Hesketh, a British singer/musician.  She's been to SXSW a few times.

Motorway 

SXSW 2014: Lolo

This is a good song.  Expect lots of airplay (after changing the 4-letter word lyrics).  It's from Lolo, the alter-ego of Lauren Pritchard.  Like Father John Misty, she's escaping her musical past and creating a new persona.

Great voice.

Heard it From a Friend

SXSW 2014: Boy and Bear

Here's one from a Sydney band.  This song reminds me a little of Noah and the Whale with Lindsay Buckingham sitting in.

Southern Sun

SXSW 2014: Eliza and the Bear

A couple Bear-named bands in honor of the Opening Ceremonies in Russia today.  The first is Eliza and the Bear, a band out of London.  Very poppy sound. They've opened for Imagine Dragons.  Makes sense.  Probably will get lots of airplay on "the new KGSR".

It Gets Cold

SXSW 2014: Yellow Ostrich

We saw this band at Home Slice on the same day we saw Hospitality.  He's got a new album coming out as well.  Quite a different sound from the quirky sound of the first album.  I wouldn't mind checking them out again.

Shades

SXSW 2014: Hospitality

Another SXSW veteran I really liked when we saw them.  Their new album just came out.  This starts fairly slow but builds into a pretty good song by the end.

I Miss Your Bones

SXSW 2014: The Belle Brigade

One of my favorite bands from SXSW a couple years ago.  They've also played ACL Fest.  They have a new album coming out March 25th.  This song kind of reminds me of Madonna's "Ray of Light" period.

Ashes

SXSW 2014: Little Hurricane

While we're waiting for the schedule to come out on Monday I'll throw up some new stuff from some SXSW alumni.  This is a little different sound from Little Hurricane, the duo that has also played ACL Fest.  We haven't seen them yet, though.  Maybe this year.

Their new album comes out March 4th.

Sheep in Wolves Clothes

SXSW 2014: Priscilla Ahn

We'll finish off female singer-songwriter day with Georgia-born, Philadelphia-raised, now L.A. based Priscilla Natalie Hartranft.  (She took her mother's Korean maiden name of Ahn.)  Like Angel Olsen, she's moving from a guitar folk-based background into a fuller rocking sound.

This is off her new album.  Sounds a lot like Lykke Li.

Diana

SXSW 2014: Angel Olsen

Singer-songwriter Angel Olsen has gone from minimalist folk to full-on rock on her latest album, which comes out in two weeks.  Currently based in Chicago, this is her 2nd album and is being released by Jagjaguwar (Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etton).

Expect to hear more from her.  She's playing Red 7 on Feb. 25th before returning for SXSW.

Forgiven/Forgotten

Embedding disabled.  Why do they do that?  Here's the video instead:

SXSW 2014: Arthur Beatrice

Might as well stick with female vocalists.  This is a band out of the UK that is releasing their first album this month.

Sultry voice.

Midland

SXSW 2014: Banks

Another breakout. Banks is an L.A. singer that hasn't released a full album yet but she's already tabbed for stardom.  This song has exploded on the internet.  She's playing Coachella and Sasquatch.  Most likely ACL, too.

Another gothic/dark melody along the lines of Zola Jesus.  It gets better as it goes along.

Brain