Deep Cotton, The Bungalow, SXSW, Saturday 15 March 2014

This phenomenal band were introduced as the funkiest most ridiculous thing we would hear all weekend. That was an accurate predication and this set was a real SXSW highlight. We were too busy having fun to write really detailed notes.

 Deep Cotton opened with a slow dance-style bluesy backing. The two lead singers leapt on stage and wailed their lungs out soulfully for the first song. The band used echo and reverb to create a spacey rock’n’roll sound. The second, up-tempo, song got the crowd jumping. Amazingly catchy this bore traces of Specials ska and Britpop 'la la la’s. The versatile band followed with a funk number, with the wah wah pedal in full force and effect. An amazing, energetic, funky, rocky cover of the Rolling Stones's ‘Satisfaction' sent the crowd wild. Their own song, 'Runaway Radio', was infectiously enjoyable with a ska punk taste to it.

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice

Liam Bailey, the Bungalow, Austin, Saturday 15 March 2014, SXSW 2014

Liam played a funky set of bluesy rock overlaid with soul style vocals. Some of the songs made us think of Led Zeppelin, the White Stripes and 60s British R’n’B. His second song opened with a guitar lick reminiscent of Sergeant Pepper. We really enjoyed the set, Liam is a compelling performer. Watching his material was like discovering classic rock and rhythm’n’blues material you’d somehow never come across. We would be keen to check out more of his material.

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice

Wye Oak, Brooklyn Vegan at Red 7, SXSW, Saturday 15 March 2015

This synth-playing duo gave us sweet vocals and lush keyboard tones, and created a sonic landscape halfway between Chvrches and the XX. Their songs also featured some punchy basslines, bringing to mind the British New Romantics.

The singer's voice had hints of Kirsty MacColl or the Sundays' Harriet Wheeler. She engaged well with the crowd, commenting that playing live was a good crowd sourcing opportunity when the audience put their phones in the air to film a song they liked.

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice

Speedy Ortiz, Brooklyn Vegan at Red 7, SXSW, Saturday 15 March 2015

Speedy Ortiz played noisy rock'n'roll with grungey guitars. Their sound brought to mind Mudhoney or Husker Du. They also threw in some good crunching unison stop-starting riffing.

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice

Connan Mockasin, Brooklyn Vegan at Red 7, Saturday 15 March 2014, SXSW 2014

Connan started with a chatty opening asking who everyone had seen at this year's SXSW, and apologising for his drunkenness the previous night. He opened the set of mellow, experimental, hypnotic freak out tunes with a track from his album, channeling Prince, and in the process pushing some of the audience into ecstatic meltdown.

The keyboard player and Connan had a bit of a sit down during the tuned out guitar solos. The long songs and short set meant that when he said "We haven't got long left", it was only after two songs. Overall, the band only played three or four songs which were all largely instrumental

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice

Jeremy Messersmith

Quilt, Brooklyn Vegan at Red 7, SXSW, Saturday 15 March 2014

The warm up tape before this band was an exciting indicator of what was to come with a good dose of The Beach Boys, Small Faces and Velvet Underground. The band's sonic palette was atmospheric west coast psychedelia with swooping and swirling guitars. The band were holding up well and still sounding fresh for their final show of SXSW.

They sounded like a melding of Teenage Fanclub or Velvet Crush and the Flying Burrito Brothers and seemed to take as their starting place the point where the Byrds' 'So You Wanna Be...' and 'Eight Miles High' left off. There were some nice finger-picking guitar licks from both guitarists as well as sitar inspired melodies.

The band gave the audience the pick of a fast or slow one as their final song. The fast one was requested and it was appropriately about as mellow fast as a psychedelic Cosmic American Music band who've played a week of shows, and an audience of exhausted gig goers, could want.

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice
Jeremy Messersmith

Tweens, Brooklyn Vegan at Red 7, SXSW, Saturday 15 March

Tweens played a sparky set of punky trash pop.

The three of them made a great racket blasting through short sharp songs with touches of Blondie, Bis, and Helen Love. 

A couple of the best songs had refrains about 'I'm your boy' and wanting you to be me. The compact songs were great as they managed to squeeze a whole bundle into their short set.

Leah Mason, Maggie Mae's Gibson Room, Friday 14 March 2014, SXSW 2014

A fantastic way to end Friday night at SXSW. Leah is a phenomenal guitar player with a great voice reminiscent in a way of Bonnie Raitt. Accompanied by her band she rocked out a bluesy set that got us moving our feet. 

The guitar licks ran through some great songs that she'd written, including a couple she'd written in Nashville two years ago that are hopefully coming out soon. We caught the name of one of these, Riot Pony, which would be worth looking up. 

The treat for the audience was that she was joined by the songs' co-writer, Brendan Benson, but the final song came around far too soon, just as we were settling in for a night of husky blues rock.

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice
Jeremy Messersmith

Ezra Furman, Valhalla, Fri 14 March, Austin, SXSW 2014

Throughout a buzzing and packed show in a tight little venue, Ezra and his band the Boyfriends played high-energy old-school rock'n'roll, with sax, bass and drums backing Ezra on guitar.

Ezra had to change guitar when he broke a string and later n the set played a harmonica on a neck stand. The edge in his voice and the fast-paced set made the band sound like a ramshackle updating of Sun studio classics, or Jonathan Richman heading up a bar band.

Ezra wore a dress and chatted wittily to he audience between numbers, introducing one number as a "topical song". "Topical as in a cream or ointment," he said. He seemed to be unsettled by the slightly rowdily crowd, which may have fired some of the energy in what was a really entertaining show.

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice
Jeremy Messersmith

Temples, Radio Day Stage, SXSW, Austin, Friday 14 March 2014

Introduced as the best way to wrap up a great day on this stage, Temples played grooving rock songs with a swirling 60s psychedelic feel. There was a real buzz in the crowd as the band started, and people rushed up to the stage to take photos.

The band looked like a dressed down Marc Bolan and T-Rex, and brought with them a tinge of more recent scouse psychedelia from bands like the Zutons, the Coral and the La's with a slightly heavy, almost metal, guitar undercurrent.

A song called Sundance had quite a dark, spooky feel, pulsing thrum of the rhythm  running beneath the vocals.  Throughout the set they created an interesting sound, rocky, but also similar to the baggy grooves of Jaguar Ma and the late 80s Manchester bands.

The songs also had a lot more too them, and more depth, than is often the case with "buzz" bands, leaving us optimistic for what the band might create in future.

Other SXSW 2014 reviews from Broken Biscuit Records:
Damon Albarn
Gruff Rhys
Woman’s Hour
Wolf Alice
Jeremy Messersmith