The Panic Manual just recently wrapped up our coverage of this year’s SXSW and in the week that we were in Austin, we certainly took in a lot of live music, both old favourites and new discoveries. But of course there was also a lot we didn’t see. And now that the dust has settled on SXSW 2023, we get a chance to look back on some of the acts we might have missed while in Austin.
One such act is Austin’s Die Spitz, a young quartet who only just got their start last year, but who already seem to be making some waves post-SouthBy. Check out the video for the band’s latest single “Hair of Dog” below.
“The Eternal” is the latest single from Silver Moth, a new project featuring Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite alongside Elisabeth Elektra and members of Abrasive Trees, Burning House and Prosthetic Head. Their debut album is out on April 21 via Bella Union. Check it out.
It’s quite convenient (and annoying) that SXSW often takes place around the same time as NCAA final four, because there is quite a startling amount of similarities. Hear me out.
As a basketball fan, you watch the NCAA Final Four tournament to watch for the future. Who in this breakneck tournament will stand out? Who will be the next Steph Curry? Who is the next Luka Doncic? You watch this tournament analyzing players – Do they have handles? How’s their shot? Do they defend? Is it natural or does it have too much of a hitch (like Michael Kidd Gilchrist). Anyways, you are not looking at the end result, but you are looking at the components that can make someone successful in the next stage of their career.
SXSW is like the NCAA final four, but with music. Aside from the 3 story Doritos stage ten years ago, SXSW is about the next big thing. Part of the fun of it is to look at bands and wonder: Are they gonna be massive? Do they have it? Surely most bands can write one catchy tune, but sometimes out of that you have to wonder if there’s enough there – Do they have a foundation? How’s the song writing? How’s the charisma? It’s one of the most fun parts of being a music fan (and a terrible part of being a musician I suspect).
Anyways, having heard Prima Queen‘s “Butter Knife”, I was very excited. An American-Brit collaboration (just like the 1700s), this duo’s song has a bit of everything – spoken poetry, a harmonized chorus and a string section that just wraps up the song in a nice tidy package and forces you to recognize that this band might be one to reckon with. For me, all these little touches get me excited to see them live. It sounds like a song far more mature than a group that’s only been around a few years should be able to achieve.
