Transmission Entertainment, the producer of Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest, has been "leaking" bands on the Fun Fun Fun website. The latest is a "bombshell" according to The Statesman: Metal titans Slayer.Best we can tell, the line-up so far looks like this:
Odd Future
Brian Posehn
Okkervil River
M83
X
Murder City Devils
tUnE-yArDs
Reggie Watts
Ra Ra Riot
Flying Lotus
Kid Dynamite
The one I'm excited about is tUnE-yArDs. NPR tapped them/her for its South By Southwest showcase in 2011, so her latest album w h o k i l l was streaming on the NPR website for a while before it was released. I was hooked after one listen, and predicted (correctly) that Pitchfork would put it in its "Best New Music" category. Merrill Garbus' musical swirl of pop, rock, electro, Afro, R&B and other elements makes for something of an Odelay for a new generation. Garbus takes plenty of risks with her music, but does it in a controlled manner and in a minimalist context that helps her pull it off beautifully. The Pitchfork review by Matthew Perpetua puts it like this: "Back in 1983 Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon wrote an essay for Art Forum that suggested that when we go to rock performances, we pay to see other people believe in themselves. A lot of what makes w h o k i l l and tUnE-yArDs' excellent live performances so compelling is the degree to which Garbus commits to her ideas and displays a total conviction in her personal, idiosyncratic, high-stakes music. This, in and of itself, is very inspiring and empowering. This unguarded, individualistic expression encourages strong identification in listeners, so don't be surprised if this record earns Garbus a very earnest and intense cult following."
We missed her sets at SXSW, so Fun Fun Fun is our second chance. Here's NPR's video of tUnE-yArDs' SXSW showcase set, featuring some of the standout tracks from like the muscular "Gangsta" and clever, Fela-tinged "Bizness."
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