Restless Leg Syndrome

Delicious food trucks at the East Side Drive-In. SXSW Day 1. Photo by Nina Mashurova

Nearly a week after flying back from sunny Austin to snowy Allston, sorting through the SXSW sensory overload finally feels manageable. Although the majority of the internet is probably good and sick of SXSW talk by now, the fest still lingers like a well-deserved hangover. We got away not only with residual blisters and perhaps permanent tinnitus, but with enormous lists of bands to look into, whether we had seen them play, heard of them in crowds or tweets, or met them in taco lines.

Some nights it's entertainment, then some other nights it's work

One of the most impressive things about SXSW for me was the variety – not only of performers and genres represented, but even of ways to experience the festival. Music lovers loaded down with 70s nostalgia still lament the loss of monoculture, but the fragmentations and nerdy specializations of all the different niches make a festival like SXSW rather like Choose Your Own Adventure – there might not be a shared narrative but that only makes each individual one more valuable. You could shell out the money for a badge and rub your chin thoughtfully while listening for the Next Big Thing, or drink as much free booze as possible and collapse from dehydration somewhere on the 6th street bacchanale, or do it up DIY style and catch the formidable amount of talented bands playing under bridges or in front of Pita Pit or in people’s houses. You could have devoted your entire festival to the onslaught of talented hip hop, the UK invasion of post-dubstep/glitch/electronica led by Gold Panda, Starslinger, Jamie Woon, and Mount Kimbie, or even Chinese rock stars channeling Sonic Youth. Possibilities and permutations run free!

So we didn’t see Deer Tick covering Nirvana, or Death From Above 1979 fans rioting outside of Beauty Bar, or Odd Future blowing off the Billboard party, or Kanye West airlifted over a power plant in a hot air balloon dropping power bars and auto-tuned rhymes into a crowd of adoring fans. While official attendees were nursing their hangovers, we joined the ranks of the young and the badgeless to run the day shift, shuttling between the slew of unofficial showcases taking place from noon to six. The lines were short, the beers were free, and because most of the bands were just below the radar, they put a lot of themselves into their shows. Some appealed to me more than others based on taste alone, but I caught close to 40 bands in 4 days and barely any could be accused of half-heartedness. Here are some further standouts:

Computer Magic plays at Cheer Up Charlie's. SXSW 2011 Day 1. Photo by Nina Mashurova.

Computer Magic – Running

Danz, the 21-year old pixie behind Computer Magic, has finally put a girl’s spin on the independent bedroom pop popularized by Memory Tapes and Neon Indian. Although the project is only a few months old, Danz has created a charming space oddity, influenced by 80s synth-pop, spaceship sounds, bizarre safety videos, VHS and casette tapes, and small robots with big hearts. The synths can feel silly on occasion but they make sense when paired with Danz’s voice, which is layered in a way that sounds both intimate and distant enough to avoid being twee. All of Computer Magic’s music is available for free on their website, so get at it while the getting’s good.

Esben and the Witch play at BAMM.tv and Pop Montreal Presents: Hollerado's Nacho House at the Beauty Bar in Austin on Day 2 of SXSW 2011. Photo by Nina Mashurova

Esben and the Witch – Warpath (from Violet Cries on Amazon)

Perhaps if I had seen the darkly unsettling video for “Marching Song,” I would have known what to expect, but when Esben and the Witch took the outdoor stage at Beauty Bar, I was completely unprepared. Rachel Davies was a woman possessed – hair flying, eyes demonic, drums attacked with a rhythmic ferocity usually devoted to sacrificial rituals for unmerciful deities. The trio from Brighton, England released their debut full-length Violet Cries on Matador about a month ago and though I haven’t listened to goth rock for quite a while now (rest in peace oversize black hoodies and Scarling albums), I can vouch that experiencing Esben and the Witch live is nothing short of hypnotizing.

Cults perform at Stereogum's Last Night party at the Pure Volume House in Austin. SXSW 2011 Day 4. Photo by Nina Mashurova

Cults – Go Outside

Cults generated serious buzz with “Go Outside” – an infectiously carefree tune whose xylophone twinkles, Jim Jones samples, and repeated urging “Do you really want to hole up? You really want to stay inside and sleep the light away?” drove me up the wall during finals week. Buzz comes and goes but their late night set at Stereogum’s party proved that Cults were capable of a lot more than “cute.” According to Pitchfork, 21-year olds Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, both San Diego natives, started the band as a couple while studying film in New York. With her tossable long hair, punk rock background, and a voice that channels soulful Motown sounds, Follin really dominates a stage. The new single is great and I’m looking forward to their upcoming full-length and their stop at Brighton Music Hall on April 1.

Dom at the Paradise in Boston. Photo by Nina Mashurova

Dom just doesn’t give a fuck, and it is awesome. I was trying to get my bacon on from a grease-bucket truck called Pig Vicious that promised to put fat in everything and ran into a shirtless dude rocking a handlebar moustache and kingly garb. This was Austin so it could have been anyone, but it turned out to be Dom. Dom turned out to be from right around here in Worcester, kindof a hot mess in a really great way, and responsible for one of the most addictive albums I’ve heard lately. Full disclosure: Never actually saw them play because scheduling gets really hard sometimes, but the album has been on constant rotation and when they open for the Go Team at the Paradise in April, I am so there.