SXSW 2004

I hate to admit it, but at first I wasn't all that keen on attending the South By Southwest Music Festival this year. The last couple of years seemed like more trouble than they were worth. Not that I didn't see some great music, but, as I get older, my endurance level for standing in poorly ventilated clubs with concrete floors for hours at a stretch diminishes, as does my tolerance of crowds. But then I found out that both the Wildhearts, who haven't played in the U.S. in a decade, and a reunited American Music Club, who are just now touring outside California, were appearing. And, hell, I'd taken a nearly six-month hiatus from the whole rock critic thing anyway, so I had no excuse for not having recharged batteries. So, what the heck, into the maelstrom we go.

Aural Fixations

ANTON BARBEAU
Guladong
(Pink Hedgehog)
Why isn't Anton Barbeau a star? Oh yeah, it's because he has song called "It Won't Be Long Until the Banjo Patrol Comes Along" and "Mahjong Dijon." Seriously, there are few songwriters as dedicated to eccentricity in pop as Barbeau—Robyn Hitchcock and the Loud Family's Scott Miller are probably his only serious rivals. Like Hitchcock, Barbeau is a tunesmith supreme, so he can couch even the strangest lyrics in ridiculously catchy hooks; also like Hitchcock, he often uses his jumble of seemingly contradictory images to hide genuine emotional dynamics. (more)

CHEAP TRICK
The Essential Cheap Trick
(Epic/Legacy)
It's easy to take Cheap Trick for granted. The Champaign, Illinois quartet's hits have been so ubiquitous on classic rock radio that they've ceased to be any more meaning than the millionth play of "Free Bird" or "Stairway to Heaven." It doesn't help that the band has made little music of consequence in the past 20-odd years. (more)

EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN
Perpetuum Mobile
(Mute)
Berlin's Einstürzende Neubauten began over 20 years ago as one of the first industrial rock bands. By "industrial," I don't mean the throbbing, crunching disco metal of Ministry or Nine Inch Nails that became popular in the late 80s and 90s. For Neubauten and its international cohorts "industrial" meant the use of found objects and materials as musical instruments, whether it's a glass bottle, a chainsaw or the venue itself. (The band became legendary for its careful destruction of the stage during performance.) More conventional instrumentation floated around in there somewhere as well, but the group made its rep on its use of, well, stuff. A Neubauten concert—or a record, for that matter—was an intimidating spectacle, the ultimate realization of art being found in everyday objects. (more)

SOUL WHIRLING SOMEWHERE
The Great Barrier
(Kalinkaland/Nova)
It's interesting that the title of this compilation by Soul Whirling Somewhere is called The Great Barrier. Songwriter/one-man-band Michael Plaster's work is about tearing down barriers, particularly the ones between his heart and his audience. He's said that his songs come from his real-life experiences, particularly those dealing with relationships; the 15 tracks on this album bare his heart and soul in a way few artists would have the courage (or the hubris, depending on your perspective) to do. Over a series of melodic soundscapes built on acoustic guitars, warm electronics and his plainspoken croon, Plaster's lyrics dwell, arguably obsess over, past loves. (more)