Drowned in Sound - Features - DiS @ SXSW: the review: "There are two, equally honest, depictions of SXSW. The one whereby you stumble upon the greatest new band in the galaxy playing to seven people, and (more likely) the scenario where you go see a band filled with hope only to realise that, frankly, they’re pretty rubbish. Unfortunately for DiS, the first band we see is local trio Che Arthur of Austin, at Habanna Calle 6 Patio, and they’re just not very good. A plodding, grunting, angsty power trio, they offer little hope that they’ll ever be anything but. It’s a stark reminder that of the 1,500-or-so bands playing the event, the majority just won’t be that good.
Another oddity is why people travel four thousand miles to check out a band they probably wouldn’t go see on a Tuesday night out in Camden. Hence the incongruity of seeing Brighton quartet Smallwhitelight at Habana Calle 6 Annex. There are a large number of UK-spawned A&R types out watching the band, somehow re-enthused by the exoticness of seeing an unsigned UK band playing in Austin. Despite (or because of?) the miles travelled from Sussex to Texas, they’re still not great at all. They leave us with a feeling of going to Barbados and deciding to watch Watford play football on a bar room telly rather than hitting the beach."
SXSW
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