Austin – Day three marks roughly the halfway point for SXSW, and it featured some of the best day shows yet. Which was fortunate, because the weather really took a dive. Making it to both Viet Cong and Ibeyi, whose sets were just ten minutes apart, was a bit of a personal victory.

Viet Cong

I assumed Viet Cong were just more members of the road crew when they took the stage. Because that one guy with the broken arm, he’s obviously not playing anything. Except he turned out to be Viet Cong’s drummer Mike Wallace, and he did in fact play through a broken arm. He’s not the first, but you’ve got to give the guy credit for taking it in stride. The band seemed pretty relaxed and good humored.

(Ed., reviewing their self-titled debut LP earlier this year, Best New Bands wrote: “Viet Cong’s debut is heartbreaking, savage, and belligerent, but in all the best ways.”)

Their music, on the other hand, is anything but good humored—high strung, terrified, anxious, activated claustrophobia, etc. Just see the lyrics to “Continental Shelf”, especially the part that goes “Don’t want to face the world, it’s suffocating, undesirable circumstances, I can’t feel, no I can’t feel.” This isn’t to call out the band—you have to assume Ian Curtis laughed at some point in his life.

Standout track: “Continental Shelf”

_____

Ibeyi

French-Cuban twins Lisa-Kainde and Naomi Diaz are Ibeyi and If there were an award for friendliest stage presence, Ibeyi would be strong contenders. The set had a surprisingly singer-songwriter quality for a group that draws so much from hip-hop. But on a second listen through their first album, this shouldn’t have been so surprising. Songs like “Mama Says” and “Ibeyi (Outro)” have that quieter, more solemn quality that showed on stage. Having noted that, it’s tough to think of a better set highlight than the funky upright bass bridge on “River.”

When Best New Bands reviewed their self-titled LP last month, we noted: “This latest album is truly stunning—a gem in its own right.”  Appropriately, “Ibeyi (Outro)” wrapped up their SXSW set and (also appropriately) it was dedicated to all the twins in the audience. There were more than you’d think.

Standout track: “River”

_____

Hinds

Hinds have been staying busy at their first SXSW. By their own count they had played eight shows already when they took the stage at Hype Hotel last night. But they seemed to get a kind of punch-drunk energy from being worn out, which isn’t surprising when you listen to their songs—they slur and shuffle through the verses, find a second wind for snappy, chipper choruses, and don’t seem to end so much as fall asleep where they stand. It’s a music inspired by college-aged fun, and Hinds seemed to have fun playing it.

Standout track: “Trippy Gum”

Tonight we’ll be hitting France’s Christine and the Queens, U.K. threesome Until the Ribbon Breaks, and taking another crack at getting in to see Elliphant. You should also look forward our interviews with Blossoms, Until the Ribbon Breaks, and Jacco Gardner in the coming weeks.

Check back for more from SXSW.

• About
• Latest Posts

Will Jukes

Will Jukes has lived in Texas his whole life. It doesn’t bother him as much as you’d think. A Houston native, he studied English at the University of Dallas before moving to Austin in search of the coveted “Grand Slam” of Texas residencies. He comes to music journalism from a broad reporting background and a deep love of music. The first songs he can remember hearing come from a mix tape his dad made in the early 90’s that included “Born to Run,”, “End of the Line,” by the Traveling Wilburys, the MTV Unplugged recording of Neil Young’s “Cowgirl in the Sand,”, and “The Highwayman,” by The Highwaymen. He has an enduring love for three of these songs. Over the years he has adored punk, post-punk, new wave, house, disco, 90’s alternative rock, 80’s anything, and Townes Van Zandt. He’s not sorry for liking New Order more than Joy Division.

Latest posts by Will Jukes (see all)

• Dawes Matures With “All Your Favorite Bands” - June 2, 2015
• Communions Find Balance in New EP - June 2, 2015
• Wolf Alice Takes Austin Back to the 90’s - May 27, 2015

Related posts:

8 New Bands We’re Excited To See at SXSW An Enormous Debut From Viet Cong SXSW: Gorgon City, ODESZA and Milo Greene