Seraphina Lotkhamnga on March 18th, 2011

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[My recap of Thursday outings at SXSW…  New Wave x Twitching R&B x Gothic Glam x Aching Feet.]

Jamie Woon (at Windish House) — If Michael Jackson had discovered dubstep three decades ago, his smooth sounds would have been a tad moodier and a bit twitchier. In fact, he would sound like Jamie Woon does today. A BRIT School graduate (only a year after Amy Winehouse) and son of Celtic folk singer Mae McKenna, Woon possesses a soulful voice that’s equal parts Bollywood, R&B crooner and Stevie Wonder. Unfortunately for Woon, the industry may be lumping him in with another rising star whose main elements also include dubstep and soul. Thankfully, there is one main difference: James Blake’s foundation is deep within the spaciousness of electronica and he’s just making his way to the idea of a structured song whereas Woon has always maintained a solid anchor in regards to accessible melody. Despite his move toward cooler shadows and glitches, the blues and bass elements should be able to help Woon’s treatment of R&B spread like wildfire. (Photo: Scott Dudelson)

Twin Shadow (at Auditorium Shore) – Romanticism and synth-heavy melodies have been around for a while. In other words, New Wave isn’t anything we didn’t hear from the lush, spacey beats from the 1980s. However, it’s plenty pertinent when an artist like Twin Shadow can immediately work his way through the genre with reinvention. Twin Shadow, also known as George Lewis Jr., may look like the typical NYC hipster, but looks can only take one so far. Born in the Dominican Republic, raised in Florida before his move up the East Coast, Lewis has been nearly impossible to escape on the Hype Machine and blogs during the last few months, with good reason. With his potent arrangements and needy lyrics which were delivered in Morrissey-like howls, the “new” in New Wave is achieving some prominence again. This can be heard in Lewis’ many remixes, but it was the original tunes that carried Twin Shadow into musical validation on Thursday night when he and his band opened for the Strokes at Lady Bird Lake.

Austra (at Emo’s) – With the band matted in glitter and two slightly creepy backing vocalists joining frontwoman Katie Stelmanis in Gothic robotic dance moves, Toronto’s Austra offered a heavy set of big backing beats that cast a spell on Emo’s. The combination of dark and glamor will never get old; just ask fans of Zola Jesus. The keyboard-based Austra offer violent bass lines coupled with operatic vocals from Stelmanis that still shine through the grimy and danceable New Wave pulse.

Twitter: @seraphina_l