xoxo

I was supposed to go and see XXYYXX last week at Birthdays but I was confined to my bedroom in an ocean of snotty tissues, getting high on Chest-Eze (seriously high). Flu is the worst.

Anyhow, I don't even really know how to pronounce his name so I couldn't even ask people in the queue if they were excited to see 'XXYYXX. At least that's what I'm telling myself as consolation for missing the show. It's some 16 year old kid making sweet tunes, most probably in his bedroom. There's a few Weeknd comparisons to be made, sure. But there's actually something a bit more Euro about it I think. It sounds a little bit French to me. I don't know why. Maybe I'm still high on Chest-Eze (seriously, take a few of those bad boys and you'll be up all night thinking you're dying).

XXYYXX also did an interview for Noisey yesterday which is pretty funny. He's a funny guy. Excellent R.Kelly references and Illuminati things. He seems cool. I wasn't that cool when I was 16. Probably still not now.

Big Mac

Captured Tracks are releasing some cool things. First tipped on to them after they put out some stuff by Beach Fossils. Most recently I came across this guy called Mac DeMarco who has just released the new single below. It's quite dreamy and nice, especially now that autumn (winter) is here.

From what I can tell, he's Canadian. Why is Canada the best at the moment? Must be the water. I went to Vancouver once. I felt quite inspired I guess, it sure is pretty. Maybe that's why. He seems weird and brilliant. Check out 'Freaking Out The Neighbourhood' below.
  http://macdemarco.bandcamp.com/

The Real O.C.(s)

Ugggggh my excitement for the new Thee Oh Sees album cannot be quantified. One of the best bands I think ever. I could listen to them every day. I do listen to them every day. I'm surprised I've never written about them before....there's a video of John Dwyer when he was in his old band when he's high as fuck and he smashes the promoter of the show over the head with this guitar. It's equal parts great and awkward turtle. I feel like I can actually remember writing about it. I guess not.

ANYWAY, so I love Thee Oh Sees. One of my favourite bands this year at SxSW. I'd seen them once before but I got to see them at Red Scoot Inn which was a little further out of 6th Street in Austin and was sponsered by Thrasher Magazine. There was a sexy barman who had rotting teeth and the owner gave me a couple of Malboro Reds and told me he wouldn't hire me. There was a skate ramp out the back where I saw Kenny Anderson, Andrew Allan, Eli Reed and the best ever Ben Raemers all skate. The stage was outdoor and basically a little wooden shack. God just thinking about it reminds me that it exists, Heaven exists. It'll cost you £470 to get there but it's worth it.

I was lucky enough to also see OFF!, Trash Talk and Andrew WK at the same venue, just to give you an idea of how amazing the place was. So when Thee Oh Sees played there someone told me Carson Daley was there. Weird. I saw Chris Owens from Girls jumping around too. The band's set was AMAZING. They played mostly things from 'Carrion Crawler/The Dream' which I enjoyed. Seeing 'The Dream' live was unreal, they are so tight and at the same time completely manic. I wasn't sure the direction that the new album would be. Turns out it just gets better. 'Putrifiers II' opens with a little kooky rift and then Dwyer's token yelp to get the album going. It feels both familiar and fresh. Like I'd heard it before but still wanted to listen to it ten more times. Fave track 'Lupine Dominus' below.
 

Jesus I'm gushing. Too much. Basically I love them, and the new album is really, really great. I don't like the artwork though. How about that? Oh and if you want, try and find the video of Dwyer knocking the promoter out with the guitar. Stressful.