SXSW Preview: The Districts, No Somos Marineros, and Pujol

You can almost feel, taste, touch, and hear SXSW in the air here in Austin; even though they make a ton of money working it, service industry workers are dreading it, hipsters are equally sighing in disgust and somewhat raising an eyebrow in anticipation, and scrubs like me are getting into arguments over what's fresh and what's not.

 I had a girl tell me that I was stupid because I buy a badge every year; she claimed that I can still do cool things without one. My response to her was if you're going to do it, why not go all in? I'd rather be the person with a badge that people look at with disdain than the scrub who walks around with 20 cents and a pack of bubble gum trying to barter my way into shows. So with that said, here are a few acts to check out.

First up is The Districts out of Pennsylvania; they are a mix of the Band of Horses and early Kings of Leon. Now typically when I even hear the word Americana I instantly throw up and move on but I decided to give these guys a shot. And wouldn't you know it, as soon I heard their song Funeral Beds and heard a harmonica in it I threw up in my mouth a little bit but as I continued to listen, they grew on me; they actually aren't that bad of a group. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer their indie stuff but you should give their song 4th and Roebling a listen; just do yourself a favor and don't look at the lead when he sings as he looks like a blind kid trying to eat corn on the cob. I rate them as barely FRESH!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTLqyoVV9EU

Next up is No Somos Marineros out of Mexico, their exact location there is unknown for their own protection because they don't want family members being held hostage for ransom. I kid, I kid. Their music is the side project that we've always hoped we'd eventually get from the Deftones' Chino Moreno. Instead of his going completely off the rails with Team Sleep or Palms, we just want the side of the Deftones that loves The Cure but still plays it with a ton of distortion. He's always given us the atmospheric sleeping aid version of the Deftones. Well I can't help but think that he called up his homies No Somos in Mexico and told them about his dream; so they went back and listened to White Pony and the self titled album and this was the result. I don't speak Spanish but thankfully he barely sings in each song and when he does his screaming is mainly drowned out by the music. I rate these guys as FRESH!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTrjbw28Afo

The last group to check out is Pujol out of Nashville. His music is all over the place but he does rock your socks off at times. His energy and rocking style reminds me of Ted Leo a bit. This is the kind of music you drink beer to and knock over a lamp while dancing to it. I'm not a big Ted Leo fan and I'm not quite what I think of him yet but I will check him out. I rate him as barely FRESH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43HOewv3eCo