Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel has been a mainstay at the SXSW Music Festival for as long as I’ve been attending the event, and this year was no exception. At the venue’s opening night, co-presented by music blog Consequence of Sound, a mixed bag of musical delights were shown off for our consumption, alongside some tacos from Taco Bell and vodka from Tito’s. As you do. I managed to catch three said attractions… I may have also eaten a taco.
First up were Californian quartet The Colourist (pictured below). The group were signed to Universal Republic Records a couple of years back and will be releasing their debut, self-titled album at the end of this month. So I have a feeling we’ll be hearing much more from the band in the coming weeks. Self described as a “math pop” group, ultimately you’ll find they sit closer to a band like Bombay Bicycle Club or even The Wombats than, say, My Disco.
But semantics aside, this is an enjoyable live band. Essentially co-fronted on the drums by Maya Tuttle, who shares vocal duties with guitarist Adam Castilla, the group know how to write an enjoyable tune. Opening with “Put The Fire Out” the set impressed the crowd as they chowed down on their tacos and even sung along to a few of the songs. It’s no surprise this is a band who have some dedicated fans. I’m sure there are plenty more where that came from…
Next it was time for Desperate Sound System (pictured in article header) to hit the stage. For those in the know, DSS is the name that Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey from Pulp often use when they DJ. And it’s far from the half-arsed DJ attempt you might see from a well known band popping in for a set of this variety. This was immediately clear when Cocker and Mackey produced a stack of vinyls as they walked onto the stage, as if to say “we’re here, and sure we’re pretty amazing musicians, but guess what: we can DJ too…”
Cocker wished us a good evening as he kicked things off with a few noises and an instrumental piece that sounded slightly like the “Star Spangled Banner”. They moved right into some more melodic moments, featuring overdubs of heavy breathing and various live sound effects courtesy of Cocker. The music at this point, meanwhile, featured some odd vocals saying “America” over an electric guitar.
I guess we weren’t going to be hearing any Beyoncé.
This seemed to bother some in the room who didn’t even know who was on the stage, but for fans of the band – and, honestly, of music in general – we were taken on an enjoyable musical journey. There were moments that sounded like something straight off a Godspeed! record – and indeed may have been – and then it would move into a dance track like “Everyone’s Got To Make A Living”. Jarvis and Steve worked carefully to build up the party vibe, and halfway through the set the bass was pumping.
It wasn’t the Pulp set we were hoping for, but any musical experience from the members of the group – who were in town for the premiere of the Pulp documentary – is always going to be an enjoyable one. And this was no exception.
After leaving the venue briefly for some other events you’ll read about elsewhere on the AU, I returned to catch one of my favourite bands from my University days, Tokyo Police Club (pictured above). Opening up with “Argentina (Parts I, II, III)”, the band immediately showed the crowd that they’d lost none of their spark over the last couple of years, while they finished up their new record Forcefield, due out at the end of the month.
They’re melodic, a little punk rock and all kinds of awesome. Just as they’ve always been. Except now, perhaps, they’re a little bit older, a little bit wiser and a little bit more impressive as musicians. They kept the party moving with “Carolina” and the now classic “Nature of the Experiment”, before moving into some of the newer material, which sounded phenomenal, including the new single “Hot Tonight”.
Other highlights from the all-too-brief performance included “Bambi” and “Wait Up (Boots Of Danger)”, with a fantastic singalong and an impressive breakdown jam to bring the set to an end. Incredibly, tonight was my first time seeing the band perform, and it was quite a nostalgic experience to say the least. But this is a band looking forward: In the last seven years this band may not have grown to a level of popularity in the way they deserve, but they have consistently released quality music and become damn fine musicians along the way. I for one can’t wait to hear the new record and here’s hoping it’s not too long before they make it back down to Australia, too.
