FEEL YOU (#25) SXSW 2013 Unofficial House Party Mixtape

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1. Midday Veil – “The Current” (Translinguistic Other)
   Seattle’s prolific Midday Veil have taken over their hometown with art installations, video projections, curation efforts, and plenty of musical genre-mixing. They are busy folks, and the latest result of their efforts is their forthcoming self-released album, The Current. The album offers quite the spread of guitar-driven ass-kicking and droned-out synth-heavy space jams, but “The Current”, as album opener, serves as an apt reminder of the band’s strengths to combine those two elements into (pretty extended) pop songs. __ VIVIAN HUA
   

    

2. Rites Wild – “Rites Wild Theme” (Not Not Fun)
   On “Rites Wild Theme”, Australia’s Stacey Wilson excavates the deepest of her homeland’s mysteries and brings them to the surface, where she buffs them soiled diamonds to a shine, slowly and patiently. What starts off with droney vocals and slow dubbed out basslines soon turns cosmic, thanks to some major delay action and harp-like washes that glitter. __ VIVIAN HUA
   

    

3. eyes wings and many other things – “Long Lost” (Pour Le Corps)
   MIXTAPE-EXCLUSIVE TRACK
   Empty your mind, relax, and eyes wings and many other things’ “Long Lost” can take you on a pretty magical journey. The repetition of the drums and bass conjures up a tribal vibe in which the Moog and ghostly vocals keep you adrift. The slight shifts of movement and sound are a pleasant brain wash that can take you from the shore of a beach into the galaxies. This track comes from the band’s forthcoming album, Long Lost. __ MARJORIE OWENS
   

    

4. Rose Windows – “Native Dreams” (Sub Pop Records)
   Another REDEFINE writer recently (and lovingly) referred to Seattle’s Rose Windows as a “poor man’s Black Mountain”, and the reference isn’t just used because both bands drink from the same rain-fed waters of the Pacific Northwest. The new Sub Pop signees’ latest single, “Native Dreams”, certainly has folk elements; but without ever getting too woodsy, they tangle up the backcountry with far out guitars, androgynous vocals, and super super super righteous organ wizardry (seriously, that guy…) to create quite the flurry of psychedelic energy. __ VIVIAN HUA
   

    

5. Darktown Strutters – “Silver Bullet”
   With “Silver Bullet”, Darktown Strutters throw down a vibe like none other, that’s part sexy secretary, part private eye, and good portions of playful funkiness for your ears (and more importantly, your ass). Darktown Strutters are a band that, echoing the cover of the ’70s blaxploitation film of the same name, encourages you to “GET DOWN AND BOOGIE!”, possibly in ways more tantalizing and freaky than you might be used to. __ VIVIAN HUA
   

    

6. Psychic Twin – “Strangers” (Polyvinyl Records)
   Chicago-based electropop group Psychic Twin are a last-minute addition to our SXSW showcase! The universe of music that Psychic Twin reside in is one of glowing, radiant dance pop with ethereal female vocal stylings — and though that certainly isn’t anything ground-breaking by description, it is always the sleight tricks that make one great band stand out from other mediocre similarities. Something about vocalist Erin Fein’s breathy mumble-melodies just tickle me in the right ways to make Psychic Twin stand out from the others, and in “Strangers”, the layers of vocal effects create a hypnotic element that touches the psychedelic sphere with respectable subtlety. __ VIVIAN HUA
   

    

7. Wampire – “Spirit Forest” (Polyvinyl Records)
   Upon hearing a title like “Spirit Forest,” a Studio Ghibli fable of lovable enchanted creatures springs to mind. However, the Portland-based duo of Rocky Tinder and Eric Phipps are exploring the dark underbelly of dream-pop, crafting tunes which trade the wispily ethereal for the utterly eerie. In this dark forest of the Wampiric mythical landscape, Ariel Pink might be the reigning chief banshee. Ariel, that dream warrior for warped pop, could understand the youthful urgency that brings the yearning and pining of a pop song romance to staggering intensity. It’s a tense yet captivating magic at play here, as Wampire skillfully straddles weirdo-pop surrealism and the visceral thrills of garage rock. Indeed, a carefully balanced tension seems at the very root of “Spirit Forest”: that buoyant, funky rhythm section which stays steadily insistent despite being occasionally drowned out by menacing organ dirges. __ GINA ALTAMURA
   

    

8. BRAINSTORM – “She Moves” (Tender Loving Empire)
   Portland-based beatific pop trio Brainstorm have churned up another sonic delight at which to marvel. “She Moves” is one of their most overtly psychedelic and heavily intoxicating jams yet. As drummer/vocalist Adam Baz sings of falling prey to some particularly seductive feminine wiles, we find ourselves caught up in a whirling sensory rush, equal parts beautiful and delirious. The compelling psych-pop voyage is made all the more intriguing thanks to Patrick Phillips’ distinctive guitar technique, which brilliantly incorporates elements of African Highlife into the mix. The sound is something like “Strawberry Alarm Clock” crash-landing in the Sahara, and the imagery evoked is of a vixen in a Mod mini-dress stepping out of the grainy black & white of a Troggs video and into a technicolor rose garden. Light some incense before you click the play button on this one; it’s all about indulging the senses. __ GINA ALTAMURA
   

    
9. Delicate Steve – “Afria Talks To You” (Luaka Bop)
   New Jersey’s Steve Marion, aka Delicate Steve, is my personal Guitar God. Always one to be drawn to story songs, latching onto narratives first, I was pleasantly surprised with myself when his second album, Positive Force — an entirely wordless record — became one of my most beloved releases of 2012. What draws me in so powerfully is the sheer euphoria expressed here, the warmth and triumph that Marion conveys so cleverly with his instrument. The songs feel absolutely life-affirming, and we’re given just enough context clues to reassure us that the feeling is right on. There are clues in the song titles like “Positive Force” and “Love”, sure, but also in Steve’s presence at his live shows, wherein his radiant optimism is contagious. __ GINA ALTAMURA
   

    
10. Ethereal And The Queer Show – “Horse” (Pour Le Corps)
    “Horse” is named appropriately; right out of the gate, its electric gallop and wispy vocals create a magical landscape. The Portland duo’s dream pop jam immediately draws you in and is one of those rare gems you want to listen to on repeat. And don’t be surprised when you find yourself humming it days after your last listen. It sticks with you in such a good way. __ MARJORIE OWENS
    

     

11. Diamond Age – “The Shoreline” (Pour Le Corps)
    If one were to imagine the coastal edges that Diamond Age are referring to in “The Shoreline”, they certainly wouldn’t be the simple west coast of the United States or even the singularly-defined boot of Italy. No, more likely, the shoreline would be of the kind seen in fractal nations, of neverending length, which can be measured into infinity as one zooms in closer and closer. From the first moments of the track, one gets caught in a intricate web of mazed electronics, and it’s hard to ever free oneself from their spinning. __ VIVIAN HUA
    

     
12. Beca – “Born To Fly (Morgan Wiley Remix)” (This Is Music Ltd)
    MIXTAPE-EXCLUSIVE TRACK
    Julliard-trained musician Beca is a one-lady petite powerhouse, with a repetoire that is wide, wide, wide-reaching. On the original version of her single “Born To Fly”, Beca works around varied tropical percussion, shots of laser beams (!), and springy basslines to bring forth her crystal clear vocals. Here, with a remix by Morgan Wiley of Midnight Magic, her music turns into a club-heavy banger over the course of seven-and-a-half-minutes. __ VIVIAN HUA
    

     

13. Xander Harris – “Agriplex” (Not Not Fun)
    MIXTAPE-EXCLUSIVE TRACK
    Imagine it’s 3013. You’re in a spinner hovering over a space highway in the midst of a chase with Mad Max-like fugitives. In comes Xander Harris, aka Justin Sweatt of Austin. “Agriplex” is a sci-fi jam for a dystopian world — but it’s not a song for a world completely without hope; its rhythmic, electronic tones give off an energy that shines for a utopian change that leaves us feeling there’s hope for those organic bots yet. This is an unreleased b-side from Chrysalid. __ MARJORIE OWENS
    

     

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