Photo: Ryan Lowry
Photo: Brian Geltner
the deli's recommended SXSW psych acts
Whitney
Vinyl Williams
Lushes
Ex-Smith Westerners Julien Ehrlich (also of Unknown Mortal Orchestra) and Max Kakacek recently expanded Whitney to an all-male septet. Kakacek’s sunny guitar licks on “No Matter Where We Go” recall George Harrison on Abbey Road, whilst 2016’s acoustic ballad “No Woman” leans more escapist. (Brian Chidester)
In 2012, this artist closed his debut EP with songs titled “Magic Jungle” and “Real Life.” With each subsequent release he’s gone farther past solid matter. Indeed, 2015’s duo LP Trance Zen Dental Spa (with Chaz Bundick) is offbeat enough to confirm its title both witty and ironic. (Brian Chidester)
Bands like Lushes make the best current argument that ’80s post-punk was heavily rooted in psychedelia. (See also the Cure’s Top album.) The Brooklyn duo recently unleashed a full length debut— Service Industry—to further celebrate their brand of dissonance and aural desolation. (Paolo De Gregorio)
Guerrilla Toss
The Lemons
Pastel Ghost
On the extreme side of psychedelia there is Guerrilla Toss. The group takes primitive antics from vintage no-wave (Throbbing Gristle/Lydia Lunch) and deconstructs them further via surrealist chants, swirly keyboards, skwonking saxes, and razor sharp screams. Wild party band. (Paolo De Gregorio)
Lo-fi pop reached an apotheosis in the late ’90s with the first Of Montreal/ Elephant 6 releases. The Lemons from Chicago persist where such pioneers have since gone hi-fi. A new 28-song LP probes the druggier side of girl-group pop, with just one tune passing the two-minute mark. (Brian Chidester)
This band’s electro cover of My Bloody Valentine’s “When You Sleep” sounds like a declaration of intents: shoegazer music where synths trump guitars. Debut LP Abyss, released in early 2015, keeps that party going via catchy melodies buried in reverb and ethereality.
(Los Angeles)
(New York City)
(Boston)
16
the deli SXSW 2016
Photo: Chad Kamenshine
Photo: Walter Wlodarczyk
(Chicago)
(Chicago)
(San Francisco/NYC)
(Paolo De Gregorio)