Austin City Limits Festival – much like the TV show from which it stems – is as much about the new acts as it is about the well established ones – and so it’s only natural that you’ll discover a few new favourites in your visit to the festival. Ahead of the event’s second weekend, here are five bands I discovered this weekend, and a couple whose brilliance was reinforced…
The Bright Light Social Hour (Day Two)
We’re kicking things off with a local Austin four piece who had the festival raving about before they even took to the stage. They embrace an impressively diverse sound, with one song having elements that would make it sit well on a Daft Punk record, while the next would break down into rock and roll straight out the 70’s. A band I’m very much looking forward to taking some time to listen to when I return to Australia!
Typhoon (Day Three)
Well this is one band you’re definitely going to be hearing about. Featuring some 12 members of stage, this Oregon band take in influences from everywhere – there’s a bit of Bright Eyes in there, some Frightened Rabbit – and has that sort of epic but beautiful sentimentality that has made Arcade Fire so popular. But I struggle to find enough adjectives to describe just how jaw droppingly impressive this band was live. “Summer Home” was a highlight of the set. Check it out below:
The Shouting Matches (Day Two)
I have to admit by the time I saw The Shouting Matches I’d had a couple of drinks and was a bit confused as to why I was watching someone who both looked like, and sounded like Justin Vernon. Turns out this is his latest project. Well, that’s a bit misleading – this is a project that goes back to 2008, but is coming back out of the woodwork now… in any case, how many does this guy have? Never willing to rest on one particular sound, this time he’s gone for a more of a Black Keys sort of feel, with some added organ for good measure, and a good amount of jamming. Very cool. And what a voice! Maybe I should do a bit of research before I get to a festival, eh?
Courrier (Day Three)
Continuing an international trend of misspelling names, Austin’s Courrier were a fine sounding band indeed. They had great stage presence and a sound that was directly derived from the late 80’s and early 90’s. A bit of INXS in there, some Death Cab, all with an reinvigorated feel – to the point that triple j might dig the material. Keep your ears open!
Mona (Day Two)
OK so I’ve heard of this band before – I even think they played Splendour one year – but how on earth had I never heard this band before!? With something of a Robert Plant-esque growl, the lead singer employs a phenomenal voice to create music that is catchy, fun and should be a lot bigger than it actually is. This is the band that Kings of Leon probably could have become at one point, but got too big and ended up producing the unfortunately average music we hear today. Mona totally rock. Check out “Shooting the Moon” in particular.
Special Mentions: Bear Mountain (Day Three) and Wild Belle (Day One)
Though it was my first time seeing both these bands, I was already familiar with their music on arrival. All the same, I was totally floored by both of their performances. Bear Mountain are one of the most original live bands I’ve seen in some time, with the influence from a whole heap of genres; electronic, rock… you name it. Wild Belle, meanwhile, use their five piece band to good measure, producing a full sound and one of the most impressive sets to come out all weekend. Siblings Elliot and Natalie Bergman are a dream team!
Check out our photo galleries of the event! Day one can be found here in PART ONE and PART TWO. Day two can be found HERE, and day three HERE. Also check out our exclusive day-by-day news coverage over at Noise11. Head over to our Austin City Limits HUB for all our interviews in one easy to find place, featuring Franz Ferdinand, Grouplove and many more.
