SXSW 2010: TuneUp’s Picks
By Tiffany | Published:
March 16, 2010
Ahhh yes… it’s that time again. With parties abound, cool kids unite, and Austin suddenly becomes the epicenter of radness. Once again, TuneUp (and it’s dedicated minions) shall not be attending – BUT that doesn’t mean we don’t have some opinions on who to check out… we are, afterall, a bunch of music junkies. So for your SXSW fix, here’s some acts that you ought to make some time for:
Sonny & The Sunsets This Bay Area crew is lovely laid back surf pop with folk elements that are sure to take an audience back to a wistful fifties or, even better, Bob Dylan’s basement. Their sound is distinctly West Coast with a myriad of comparisons to The Beach Boys, and their LP Tomorrow Is Alright was released in late 2009. These songs smell like campfires and sunscreen, perfect for that Texas heat.
Local Natives The song “Sun Hands” must be one of sexier things that has come out of Los Angeles in the last six months… and “Airplanes” is pretty much the sweetness to the grit of their catchy melodies. Like, seriously. If Local Natives were a virus, we’d all be dead. Not exactly new to the SXSW scene, these guys are a favorite, so catch them while you can!
TIGER! SH*T! TIGER! TIGER! Who doesn’t love a good punk rock show? Exactly, no one. TSTT hails from a tiny town in Italy, which makes you wonder if their in-your-face sound comes from some kind of pent up aggressione that manifested into something just downright fun. Lots of wailing and screeching along to short bright riffs. C’mon, with a name like that they had better live up to it.
Warpaint This female threesome (now foursome) met on an audition and are more interesting for their budding musicianship rather than acting chops. With soupy-metallic vocals and a raw etherial energy, their standout track “Billie Holiday” creeps Chan-Marshall-style around the classic 1967 hit “My Guy”, and in doing so, provides a soft and alluring tone that will give you shivers.
Sleepy Son This band is our ultimate flirtation with nepotism. They were at the Treasure Island Music Festival and blew us away. With heavy psychedelic rock influences, Sleepy Son is a sunset (district?) acid trip. Their orchestral “Lord” swings open and takes you in, gives you a back rub, and lays you down in electric guitar and sweet reverb. Oh yeah, and the female vocalist on their EP Embrace is just as amazing live. For reals.
Rye Rye We heard about Rye Rye when she released the single “Bang” with a little known artist named M.I.A.. Of course, being a protege to a global hip-hop star ain’t a bad start, and at 19 Rye Rye has had lots of attention thrown her way. Her debut Go! Pop! Bang! keeps getting pushed into a later release, granted she did have her first child in September (Mazel tov!). But in some ways a SXSW performance will prove if she can live up to the hype – we hope so!
So there ya have it! Some awesome artists to check out if you just happen to be in the City of the Violet Crown… and if not (like us) then be sure to blast them from your speakers, invite over some friends with ironic mustaches, buy a case of PBR and just pretend like you’re there! As always, be sure to let us know what you think of these artists, and which ones you’re more excited to see live.
This entry was posted in At TuneUp HQ, Off-Topic & Miscellany, Tuneage and tagged austin, festival, local natives, music, rye rye, show, sleepy son, sonny & the sunsets, sxsw, tiger!shit!tiger!tiger!, warpaint. Bookmark the
permalink. or leave a trackback:
Trackback URL.
