Sometimes you are listening to some random playlist and then a song grabs your attention. This is the case for “Come Meh Way,” a song by LA based singer-songwriter Sudan Archives. Its violins and percussion are just different than your usual tune and obviously draws influence from places that I have never been.
Sudan Archives is playing SXSW. Check her out: Mar 12, 2018: 8:00pm — 8:45pm at Mohawk Indoor
Mar 14, 2018: 4:00pm — 4:40pm at Radio Day Stage (Austin Convention Center)
Mar 16, 2018: 11:30pm — 12:00am at Empire Garage
Talk about multitasking – a review and a preview all in one. Milk & Bone are a duo from Montreal who have just recently released their sophomore album Deception Bay. I personally knew nothing about them until I saw a friend suggesting people should go to the show. I hadn’t been to a show all year and I figured it would be a good idea to prep myself again for going to a show because in a few days I’ll be seeing about 40-50 bands and I don’t want to be traumatized from that.
My friend had described them as one of those “pleasant Spotify bands” that would show up in your “electro pop” playlist. The funny thing is after witnessing the show, it’s actually kind of true. I don’t know what that means but it made perfect sense.
Accompanied by a minimal light show, the duo played a rather long (over an hour) show that highlighted their talent. It was really hard for me to categorize their music, which is one of the things I try to do for some reason. The first part of the set was more low key dream pop and reminded me of Au Revoir Simone if Au Revoir Simone had listened to Massive Attack. Just as the music seemed to tire on me, the second part of their set was a mix of slick R&B tracks and more electronic focus, but like, not raging Calvin Harris at a tropical night club vibe – more like, if Calvin Harris was playing to a room of introverts kinda dance vibe. Through it all, one thing is clear: these two ladies are very good at vocals. No karaoke wars with them!
The show actually left me kind of confused. Are they a dream pop band? Are they an R&B band? Maybe they are a bit of everything. Maybe all new bands are a bit of everything because when they were kids it was the 2000s and all the genres blended together. How crazy is that? I’m so old.
Anyways, it was a very pleasant show and had a bit of everything. The packed crowd definitely enjoyed it and I was glad I was able to make the trek to the Mod Club to see them.
They are also at SXSW! here are their sets:
Mar 12, 2018 8:00pm @ Bungalow
Mar 15, 2018 1:10am @ The Sidewinder Outside
Mar 16, 2018 9:00pm @ Swan Dive Patio
If I learned one thing from the recent Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, (other than the fact that a lot of people are kind of obsessed with whether or not Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are romantically involved) it’s that South Koreans love their metal.
The sight of a 13 year old guitarist shredding his ass off as he played a variation on Vivaldi’s “Winter” followed by a brief performance by heavy post-rock band Jambinai made for perhaps the most metal Olympics closing ceremony ever. So while the most heavily hyped Korean acts playing SXSW this year are likely the K-pop ones, the presence of retro glam metallers Victim Mentality is also welcome as they represent all that’s heavy in their homeland.
Victim Mentality play the very metal Dirty Dog Bar on March 15 at 9:00pm. Go see them and then grab a slice at Hoek’s next door for the full Austin metal experience.
Having been to SXSW 9 times now, you start to notice certain showcases as always being awesome. The British Music Embassy is one of them. Taking residence at Latitude 30, the BME showcases bands new and old, and despite what you think, it broadcasts quite the diverse showcase. Usually each area of Britain takes up a day or nite and you see a wide ranging group of musical acts.
Bascially you are guaranteed a good day or night of music. No lie, when my buddy visited Austin for one night during SXSW and he didn’t have a media pass, I told him to just go to BME and pay 10 bucks and stay the night there because it was the best bet for solid music.
Off the top of my head, I can think of some great shows I have seen there, including
Kate Tempest
Tim Wheeler (of Ash)
Late of the Pier
Sundara Kharma (why aren’t they big?)
Billy Bragg
Temples
Django Django
and I’m not even going to talk about the bands I have missed there which in recent years include
