SXSW Preview 3 : The Wytches, Residuels, and Pagiins

As you can tell from the band names that are listed in the title of this post, you are more likely to go to hell from listening to them than you are to finding the soundtrack for your life. But if you are like me and you are obsessed with soundtracks, you have probably fallen in love with some bands that you have later regretted listening to as time passed by due to this need for them in your life. I miss the days when big budget films would put just as much effort into the movie's soundtrack as they did the movie itself. So instead of utilizing a good score they'd simply force some big artist's song over an action scene like they did with Nine Inch Nails in The Crow or Massive Attack in Blade II. The only thing is that in those instances it actually worked and enhanced the movie but there are plenty of examples out there where you just ended up laughing at the result of their efforts; such as the weird mix of Helmet and House of Pain blaring in the background as Emilio Estevez fought off Dennis Leary or  Charlie Sheen listening to some dirty hip hop in his convertible in Money Talks. Now the reason I bring up these terrible examples is because I actually liked that stupid Judgement Night soundtrack for a quick second but I never had the balls to admit that to anyone. So I get that we can get caught up in the moment of something exciting and make poor decisions as a result of it. But the good news is, I don't think that's the case with these bands I'm previewing today with SXSW right around the corner.

First up is the band The Wyches, and I have to say that I am thankful for the fact that it seems like someone out there finally heard my cry for the return of the Strange House version of The Horrors. I've always said that their first album sounded like the soundtrack to a Vincent Price movie. And while the music of The Wytches isn't quite that, it does serve as a nice score to a random USA Up All Night with Rhonda movie fest with its odd mix of surfer rock, psychedelia, and dark and fuzzy guitar riffs. Wire Frame Mattress and Gravedweller are two personal favorites of mine from this British trio and as of now I have to give these guys a rating of FRESH.
http://soundcloud.com/thewytches/wire-frame-mattress

Next up is Residuels. Just imagine if Bruce Springsteen formed a punk/garage band and didn't  let his stupid wife sing; the result would be these guys. When you're limited to two instruments it's hard to make your sound distinctive, so either your personality or your voice as the lead has to stick out; and thankfully for them Justin Pittney does just enough to do that. The problem I see for them long term is that with today's technology it's easy for 8 million bands with a similar sound to get their music out there and because of that I think it will be hard for these guys to blow up. But I do suggest that you pop in for a good time as this is as close to bluesy punk as you can get. He really sounds like a Cajun who happens to be stuck in Philly. I rate them as FRESH.
http://soundcloud.com/residuels/too-much

The last artist for the day would be the Pagiins, a garage band from Arkansas. I don't think they have a consistent enough style to really blow up simply because one second they sound like the young energetic punks you'd expect to hear and then the next they sound like teens who just started playing music yesterday. It's as if they heard their first ever Ramones album and tried to copy it. I do think they are fun and worth a listen but for now they get a rating of WEAK.
http://soundcloud.com/pagiins/maria