Micachu and the Shapes were one of my favorite performances of SXSW last year, led by 21 year-old Mica Levi, who is essentially a musical prodigy (she builds her own instruments and has composed for the London Philharmonic). Being a prodigy, you would think her music would be hoity-toity obscure indie music which is amazing but not even remotely accessible, yet Micachu (with her band, The Shapes), play some of the catchiest experimental indie-pop you could imagine. It's the kind of music which I've grown into the past few years - music that redefines what you would expect pop to be. They were signed to Rough Trade recently and release their debut album Jewellery in April.
Micachu and the Shapes - Golden Phone
As opposed to the Micachu above this post, I didn't see Local Natives play once at SXSW. They played quite a few shows around town and my schedule was so hectic that I didn't get to see a single one of them, unfortunately. I did see them a month or so ago, at the tail end of their Silverlake Lounge residency, where they played to an unbelievably packed house. They have all the right parts to a great band, and while there is still some work to be done, it's clear that talent is there. Their Simon and Garfunkel cover below confirms it, and their original material is pretty good too; as much as you know I love my futuristic pop music, electro remixes and crazy haunting experimental batshit crazy jams, sometimes having a solid indie rock band is just what you need to take the edge off.
