Austin – Here are some shorter reviews of bands I saw.
Boxer Rebellion played the anchor slot of British Embassy Tuesday night showcase and the well coiffed Nathan Nicholson and his band delivered a stellar, straight forward performance of select tracks off their new album The Cold Still. Unfortunately for them, they played after Pulled Apart By Horses, a band whose antics left the crowd in a daze. In comparison, the Boxer Rebellions brand of straight up melodic rock might have seemed kind of tame. They did play a song about kidnapping though, so that counts for something.
The Boxer Rebellion – These Walls Are Thin by TBR
Class Actress is Elizabeth Harper, a Brooklyn singer whose heartfelt dramatic electronic beats are well suited for parties at 3 am. Sadly, her timeslot was at 3pm and it was a bit awkward to walk from a bright and sunny day into a dark night club with some deep, dark beats. Despite the small crowd, Elizabeth did a nice job delivering the Class Actress experience. Dressed in an oversized dress shirt and flanked by two dudes on electronic gadgets, Elizabeth sang her tracks over some nice throbbing beats. Maybe it was her dress shirt, but at times I thought it was some drunk recently heart broken/repressed chick on stage singing karaoke. Maybe that was the point. Her debut record Journal of Ardency is out now.
Class Actress: Journal of Ardency by TheMusicFile
Playing before the debut of Ellie Goulding, I had originally pegged Clock Opera as an appetizer before the main course. At some point during their set, it hit me – these guys were really good. Featuring a bassist, a drummer and lead singer Guy Connelly who was on synths, Clock Opera played some catchy electronic tracks. Guy’s semi heartbreak/dramatic vocals work really well with the type of electronic music they are creating. I dont know much else about these guys, but they are definitely a band I’ll keep my eye on in the future.
Belongings by moshi moshi music
Confined to a dark night club, Tahiti 80‘s sunny French pop music seemed terribly misplaced for a SXSW show. Still the veterans carried on, previewing tracks off their third album The Past, The Present, & The Possible. The bands summery laid back pop music seemed like a complete derivative of their personalities, as each member of the band seemed to have been having a blast. Even a guitar problem, which forces one of the members to restring his guitar, did not seem to faze these guys. It would have killed a younger band, for sure. The short set ended with hit single Heartbeat, much to the crowd (and my) delight.