By Robin Hilton
Clockwise from upper left: Tacocat, And The Kids, Bethlehem Steel, John Congleton, Edith Crash Courtesy of the artists hide caption
toggle caption Courtesy of the artists
After six days of little sleep and a lot of music, the All Songs Considered team is back from Austin with a bucketload of bands and discoveries to share. On this week’s show, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton are joined by NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson to share their favorite finds and memorable moments, from the stadium presence of Israeli singer Ninet Tayeb and party brass band Lucky Chops to the dark, moody folk of Edith Crash and the kick-ass rock and roll of Seratones.
Want to see and hear more from SXSW? We’ve got live concert video including performances by Mitski, Charles Bradley and Anderson .Paak; lullabies from Lucius and Declan McKenna; nightly podcasts taped in the wee hours direct from the streets of Austin and much more.
The Brooklyn-based trio Bethlehem Steel performs a gloriously loud and fuzzy rock that has a “whatever” kind of vibe to it. Our hosts dub the genre “shrug rock.”
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The singer and banjo-player from Chicago plays Prohibition-era-inspired music with incredible intensity and punk rock tempos.
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Sevdaliza’s commanding stage show reminded Bob of The xx and Daughter: The mix of organic and electronic sounds make quite the impact.
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Lewis Del Mar’s front man Danny Miller is a captivating live performer who never takes his eyes off the crowd. Paired with the group’s unconventional polyrhythms and weird effects, it made quite the compelling performance.
Ninet Tayeb is an Israeli singer whose rock star vibes come through both in the studio and her stage show. She has a real stadium presence.
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Valley Queen comes from the Neil Young school of great music. They are fronted by Natalie Carol, whose voice is simply amazing.
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Edith Crash is a French transplant to L.A. who performs bluesy, folky music that is all very dark and strange, complimented by her sultry voice.
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Four piece Tacocat is led by a cotton-candied haired powerhouse named Emily Nokes, one of three women out at the front of this plain fun band.
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Lucky Chops are a saxophone-focused group who are spiritually related to Moon Hooch; in the live setting, these horn players go wild!
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Robin loved the playfulness and energy of Tiny Desk alums And The Kids.
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Anderson .Paak brought down the house at Stubbs as part of NPR Music’s SXSW showcase. He seamlessly switches between singing and rapping, hip-hop and soul, all tied up in a full-thought out artistic persona.
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Seeing John Congleton live reminded Bob of the best Mountain Goats shows he’s seen. In addition to the great poetry there was an off-kilter, horror-movie soundtrack that made the room feel like it was flipping around.
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Everything that Parisian trio Talisco does is a celebration of joy and life and love.
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Shreveport, La.’s Seratones is a kick-ass rock band that has all the stage presence in the world.
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Bob loved Overcoats’ mix of organic and electronic sounds. Of all the discoveries he had at SXSW, this is the one he expects to hear the most from.
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