Street Spirit
SXSW Top 10
March 19, 2008 15:03
Mahjongg: These Chicagoans’ multiple-drummer-powered grooves are more sinuous than storming, which makes a nice change from the dance-rock norm.
The Ruby Suns: There must be something in the water down under, because this New
Zealand trio share a similarly exotica-infused and electronically adorned take on psychedelia with The Avalanches.
Yeasayer: They’re not about to bust out 18-minute Rick Wakeman solos (or his capes), but judging from their stunning shows, their arranged marriage between indie and prog seems to be working out just fine.
The Clipse: The Re-Up Gang did make an appearance, as did the new single, but the screaming club crowd knew all the words to Hell Hath No Fury and weren’t about to let anyone forget it.
Black Mountain: We knew they were getting big, but sitting on a grassy hill in Waterloo Park watching these stoner rock titans kick out the jams with 5,000 people was a revelation — these guys were made for the arena.
Death Set: Two buzzsaw guitars, two drum kits, some INXS and Spank Rock samples, countless stage dives and an Operation Ivy cover add up to a whole lotta awesome.
Lykke Li: Swedish singer gives fellow Scandinavian starlets Annie and Robyn a run for their kroners, but melts away the icy electro veneer for more intimacy. (She plays the Mod Club May 11 with El Perro Del Mar.)
The Night Marchers: Former Rocket From the Crypt frontman John Reis forms another bruising garage-punk band, and all is right once again in the world. Hopefully, the recruitment of bassist Tommy Kitsos from Montreal’s CPC Gangbangs will be enough to qualify them for CanCon regulations.
Fuck Buttons: If, per Philip K. Dick, androids do dream of electric sheep, this Bristol freak-tronica duo soundtracks the nightmare where they get sent to the slaughterhouse. We were especially fond of that song that goes “ggzzzrrrkk” and then “yarraggh!!!” (Catch them opening for Caribou March 20 and 21 at Lee’s Palace.)
The Indelicates: With their more aggressive, flamboyant take on erudite British indie-pop, you could easily rename this UK quintet Balls & Sebastian. If there’s any justice, the meta-music-biz lament “Waiting for Pete Doherty to Die” will become the “Fairytale of New York” of a new generation.
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