News

Words by Zoe Sainsbury

The lineup for one of the world’s most well renowned festivals Coachella was announced today with some cracking headliners: Radiohead, Bon Iver, The Black Keys, Artic Monkeys, M83, Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg, Florence + the Machine, Avicii, David Guetta… to name a few (see the poster below).

But what about those bands in the finer print that we often don’t know that much about and then miss as we’re too busy sneaking bevies back at the tent? That is of course unless you’re a militant timetable circle-er who would sleep on the grounds given half the chance *raising hand slowly in embarrassment*.

Whoever you are, there’s nothing like discovering new music at a festival, and since not many of us will actually be able to get our empty pocketed pants over there – we thought we’d do the hard yards for you.

Here’s some awesome bands on this years ticket you should definitely get into (even though it might pain you even more once you do).

Check it out:

Yuck - these kids are the coolest new low-fi indie kids to come out of London. Their self-titled album released this year is a cracker, from start to finish. This is the first single off it Get Away. Wild Beasts - these guys hail from the UK and were out here for Laneway Festival in 2009 so you may have already caught them before! This song 'Albatross' off their 2011 release Smother, is all kinds of beautiful... Andrew Bird - if you haven't seen this guy live, put it on your to-do list. He's a multi-instrumentalist who lives samples and loops the layers on the spot as part of his live shows. You only have to watch this clip shot as part of the Live at the Basement series to know what I mean... The Weeknd - Abel Tesfaye is the man behind the hip-hop/R&B outfit named after the best part of the week. He combines super unique production with ethereal vocals - a complete contrast to the actual lyrical content of his songs about sex and drugs. If ever there was music to have dirty sex to... The Big Pink - also from the UK, this new duo put the fuzz back in electro pop. This is their most recent single, "Hit the Ground (Superman)" which sounds a bit like the Scissor Sisters to start... cool track! Real Estate - These guys latest release Days which came out just last year was one of my personal fave's of 2011 - it just feels like summer ending... Can't wait to see these guys live - they're touring in March!
  Wild Flag - headed up by the new indie sex queen Carrie Brownstein (step aside Karen O!) - this all girl four piece from Portland take no prisoners with their punch-packing indie punk sound. Check it... Other Lives - these guys are a five piece from Oklahoma and have toured with the likes of Bon Iver (Score!). This track is from their second album Tamer Animals, "For 12" and it's pretty beautiful... sounds a bit like Fleet Foxes sans choral vocals... St Vincent - is Annie Erin Clark, a one-woman multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter. Apparently she used to be part of The Polyphonic Spree (but then again who wasn't - they probably only got a sip of beer each for their rider). I love how dreamy this track "Surgeon" is... it just swirls around your head like when you stand up to quickly after lying in the sun. Band of Skulls - oh boy would I kill to see these guys rock out live, I'd prob need to see a chiropractor straight after the gig... This is one of my fave tracks of theirs - I know it's an oldie, but what a goodie!