The New York Times’ Art Beat section recently reviewed a series of performances at this year’s SXSW festival in Austin, and it seems our beloved IODA artists made quite an impression on them! Here’s a list of some of the artists and what Art Beat had to say about their performances (some of the quotes come from a feature they do called the “four word review;” it’s easy to guess which ones):
Frightened Rabbit: “Frightened Rabbit–singular noun, full band–devotes itself to hangdog anthems. Its stage patter was so unassuming that the band’s lead singer, Scott Hutchison, insisted the group had been outplayed by an opening act, We Were Promised Jetpacks. But the music contradicted that humility.” – Jon Pareles
“The Modern Leper” (mp3)
from “The Midnight Organ Fight”
(Fat Cat Records)
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Son Lux: “Son Lux had a different sonic palette for each song, from static-y dance beats to sparse piano notes, with lyrics that sketched bleak images” – Jon Pareles
“Weapons VI” (mp3)
from “Weapons – EP”
(anticon)
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Tobacco: “Tobacco, from Black Moth Super Rainbow, played elastic electronica, full of aggressive analog swoops and buzzes, that moved in and out of dance beats.” – Jon Pareles
“Dirt (feat. Aesop Rock)” (mp3)
from “Fucked Up Friends”
(anticon)
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Hauschka: “Hauschka … builds his repeating structures with a Romantic ear — pensive minor chords, inviting melodic lines, slow-cresting dynamics — and, sometimes, a foundation of rock rhythm. Even with their echoes of Philip Glass, the pieces were ingenious and exquisite.” – Jon Pareles
“Freibad” (mp3)
from “Ferndorf”
(Fat Cat Records)
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Still Life Still: “…just when we were about to get back to work, Still Life Still kicked in. The band’s set was full of time shifts, sudden vocals and minor chords, but managed to make obtuse angles fit together almost sweetly. We stayed. The world and its petty needs would have to wait.” – David Carr
“Neon Blue” (mp3)
from “Girls Come Too”
(Arts & Crafts)
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Broken Social Scene: “… Emily Haines of Metric wandered onstage in a gray hoodie, along with her bandmate James Shaw, to knock down a version of “Anthems for a 17 Year Old Girl.” Oddly enough, the addition of yet even more people seemed to solve the math and steady the presentation. By the end, people were even dancing.” – David Carr
Thee Oh Sees: “Thee Oh Sees have the propulsion of punk and the whirl of psychedelia, and the foursome … drew a few hundred people. A few hundred very enthusiastic people … the vibe was far more chummy than polished. The group performed in a tight knot with the audience clustered inches around it. There was a mosh pit and even some crowd-surfing. At times the dancing was so hard the bridge shook.” – Melena Ryzik
“It Killed Mom” (mp3)
from “Thee Oh Sees Sucks Blood”
(Castle Face)
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We Were Promised Jetpacks: “Masculine emo road untaken.” – Ben Sisario
“Ships With Holes Will Sink” (mp3)
from “These Four Walls”
(Fat Cat Records)
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Real Estate: “Rollin’ downriver, beery haze.” – Ben Sisario
Warpaint: “They start out airborne, with high rippling chords and pinging patterns; soon one of the women starts singing a line or two that becomes an incantation, usually about a tense relationship: “All the time it took you to get yourself straight,” one chides. And then the drums kick in, the bass dives down and Warpaint turns downright funky while the guitars still float. First they hypnotize; then they get you dancing.” – Jon Pareles
