100 Great Bands to See at SXSW 2013
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To celebrate the festival’s music section, which kicks off tomorrow, we’ve compiled a list of our 100 favorite acts heading out to Austin this week. Read about and listen to them all below.
Danny Brown
In 2007, Brown signed with Brooklyn’s highly respected Fool’s Gold records, which was founded by DJs A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs (“We talk a lot and I think that’s probably what’s missing between the artist and the company probably a lot these days. Like, I text A-Trak right now and he responded within three minutes,” Brown says). His 2011 album XXX made him a critical darling, earning him a spot on XXL’s “Top 10 Freshmen” list, SPIN’s No. 1 hip hop album of the year and Detroit Metro Times’ “Artist of the Year” award.—Tyler Kane
Dawes
Since their debut album North Hills was released in 2009, Dawes has continued to build a following thanks to their roots-infused rock music and easygoing personality. The guys have rubbed shoulders with industry greats like The Band’s Robbie Robertson and songwriting genius Conor Oberst, but Dawes’ sound is all their own. Their widely anticipated third album Stories Don’t End is due out on April 9 via their own label and in partnership with their management company, Q Prime.—Dacey Orr
Day Joy
With almost ghoulish and ethereal vocals, it’s hard to believe that with a name like Day Joy and a hometown like Orlando, Fla., that this band’s sound would be so dark. But rather than bringing up images like sunlight and happiness, their music is evocative of dark, foggy swamps, as if the band itself rose from the depths of one. There is a sadness to their music but it comes with therapeutic, soothing tones. It pulls you in with alluring all-encompassing, airy vocals and simple melodies. Day Joy’s music is haunting but it is as profound and calming as the natural environs it reminds us of.—Anita George
Delicate Steve
To say electronic music is prominent in today’s up-and-coming (or in some cases, came-and-maybe-already-went) scene is an understatement. What’s notable about Delicate Steve is not necessarily guitarist Steve Marion’s apt electronic contribution, but his songwriting and reference to earlier musicality that could be easily overlooked. Delicate Steve understands and is equally intrigued by what you can do with a great vintage synthesizer, but his George Harrison/Eric Clapton-esque guitar melodies are what make this album worth listening to.—Nicole Oran
Diamond Rugs
Is the debut from this supergroup (made up of Deer Tick’s John McCauley and Robbie Crowell, the Black Lips’ Ian St. Pe, Dead Confederate’s Hardy Morris, Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin and Six Finger Satellite’s Bryan Dufresne) high art? No way. It is, however, sweaty and unpolished with just the right amount of self-awareness—everything a great rock record should be. Whether it’s the horns on “Call Girl Blues” or St. Pe’s laissez-faire delivery on “Hightail,” there’s a certain devil-may-care vibe that permeates the album, and it’s infectious.—Bonnie Stiernberg
DIIV
At this point, it’s probably more accurate to say that DIIV is the Best of What’s Now rather than Next, considering their first LP Oshin has made a sufficient splash in the current music scene following its release. The guy behind DIIV’s hazy, dreamlike concept album is Beach Fossils guitarist Zachary Cole Smith. A firm believer that albums should be heard from start to finish, he wrote Oshin with the goal for it to be a transitional story. As Smith explains it, “the first half is existential and almost poppy, more curious, and the second half is much darker and more watery and shadowy.”—Nicole Oran
Divine Fits
Don’t use the S word around the members of Divine Fits. The band may feature two of the most charismatic indie-rock frontmen working today—namely, Britt Daniel of Spoon and Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs, along with New Bomb Turks drummer Sam Brown—but the S word (“supergroup”) sets up too many expectations, not all of them positive. Divine Fits aren’t a one-and-done act like Zwan, or an outlet for egos like Blind Faith, or a retirement community like the Traveling Wilburys. They’re just a couple of guys who like each other’s music and enjoy hanging out and making music together.—Stephen M. Deusner
DJ Earworm
Nowadays, it seems like everyone and their mother has dabbled in the art of mash-ups (Glee seems like it has had half a dozen episodes devoted to the concept). Yet, San Francisco-based artist DJ Earworm—real name Jordan Roseman, if you’re curious—helped set the bar high with his annual “United State of Pop” mash-ups. First launched in 2007, “United State of Pop” collects the top 25 songs of the year, according to radio play, and melds them all—the good, the bad and the borderline unlistenable—together into a coherent and catchy whole. So regarded were DJ Earworm’s mash-ups (and the equally sophisticated music video mash-ups that accompanied each year’s track) that he was commissioned to put together two mixes to be played at last summer’s London Olympics. And, darn it, if it’s good enough for the Olympics, it’s certainly good enough for the good people of SXSW.—Mark Rozeman
Dream Boat
Some years back, Dream Boat’s Dan Donahue found himself in a classic dilemma, harboring an unrequited crush. The object of his affection was Page Campbell, a compatriot from the Athens, Ga., music underground who played with such well-regarded bands as Hope for agoldensummer and Dark Meat. But music, as it often does, eventually brought them together. They started bouncing songwriting ideas off each other, with Donahue sending Campbell lyrics to work with. Slowly a romance grew, along with an impressive catalog. After a while, starting a band seemed obvious.—Rachel Bailey
Easter Island
Easter Island’s full-length debut, Frightened, is a lush, haunting collection of dream-pop tunes that owes a much heavier debt to the likes of Explosions in the Sky and My Bloody Valentine than the synth- and effects-driven dream-pop of the genre’s current heavyweights. Singers (and brothers) Asher and Ethan Payne nestle softly sung lyrics about loss (both in the sense of having lost something and being lost yourself) among soaring, glassy guitars, brisk drum fills and waves of reverb.—Rachel Bailey
