Year: 2013
SXSW 2013: Wavves @ Easy Tiger – SPIN House 03.15
Watching Wavves for the first time made me wish someone had sat me down and said, “Esther, you gotta listen to Wavves, RIGHT NOW, because it’s going to become your summer soundtrack, I just KNOW it.” … read more
SXSW 2013: Imam Baildi @ International Day Stage 03.15
I was immediately drawn in by their “fusion” sound: a mix between traditional Greek music, which sounds a little bit like samba, Flamenco and Arabic pop jumbled together, hip hop and a ’60s Bollywood musical. … read more
SXSW 2013: Desert Noises @ Javelina – New Frontier Touring...
There was not a moment that Desert Noises wasn’t giving their all, and the sound was as flawless as if they were playing Velour. … read more
SXSW 2013: Mikal Cronin @ The Perish – Merge Records...
I knew Mikal Cronin had played with Ty Segall and recently inked a deal with Merge Records, but I had yet to check out his music. When I saw he was playing SXSW, I added him to my list. The crowd drank up Mikal Cronin like he was the last beer of the night. Lots of NPR types and 40-something industry people crowed the front of the stage, acting like they were in college again. … read more
SXSW 2013: Austra @ Elysium – Moog/Switched On Showcase 03.16
Austra and their roadies took forever to set up (almost an hour)! They apathetically wandered around the stage while the audience waited patiently. Just as it looked like they were going to start, front woman Katie Stelmanis announced that drummer Maya Postepski, had lost her cymbals and that they couldn’t start until she found them. Seriously, how drunk do you have to be to you lose your drum symbols? … read more
SXSW 2013: The Soft Moon @ Elysium – Moog/Switched On...
The Soft Moon is a post-punk three-piece form San Francisco with Krautrock subtleties. Their stage presence was cool—lots of smoke, darkness and a few laser lights to round it out. The show was fantastic aside form vocalist Luis Vasquez’s numerous vocal screams, emulating Robert Smith. The first couple were coo,l but the yowls became predicable by the fourth song. … read more
SXSW 2013: Baptists @ The Scoot Inn 03.16
Baptists have two, concurrent modes: metal face-clocking and riling the crowd into an abrasive disposition. The vocalist bashed into the crowd freely to generate mosh pits that would have otherwise been inaccessible for the band before an audience who found shade from the 3:00-p.m. Texas sun. Baptists thrash with a hardcore punk candor amid their “metal fur-ball convulsions” where their whole body takes on the motion of head banging. … read more
SXSW 2013: Parquet Courts @ The Red 7 03.16
Parquet Courts really put some work in! They subtly rocked out onstage, and though they all take turns with understated punk vocals, they had sweat stains on their clothes by the end of their set. Bassist Sean Yeaton busted out solo bass chording and played with octaves while drummer Max Savage set forth awkward rhythms. They inspired me to do what I would describe as a “crooked dance.” … read more
Interview with Harrison Mills of Odesza
Odesza will be playing at Urban Lounge on March 22 as a part of their current tour with Emancipator and Little People. SLUG had the chance to sit down and have a chat with Harrison Mills, one half of the production duo, to learn a little bit more about their music, how they approach making it and what their plans are for the future. … read more
Trust @ Urban 03.12 with Eraas
Trust has been incredibly influential for me this past year. Their debut album, TRST, has nourished my babybat maturation and been a setting for the transgressive happiness that I look for in post-punk expression. … read more