Like I mentioned before, most of the bands to see at SXSW come through New York anyway. Tops on my list of must-sees are the Sheffield duo of Charles and Rebecca. Slow Club is no stranger to this space, so seeing them make their U.S. debut tonight in the depths of Cake Shop was icing on the cake. Maybe more of a cupcake because they are just darn adorable.
They played sampling of songs, some new to my ears, but it was enough for me convince me that they have creativity and sweetness in spades. I was a big fan before and now I'm gushing about how fantastic they are.
The setlist:
- Because We're Dead
- When I Go
- It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful, Unless It's Beautiful
- No Good Way To Say I'm Leaving You
- Trophy Room
- Christmas TV
If you know them, you're looking at those songs and asking, "Where's 'Me & You'?" As it turns out, they need a special chair to use an instrument for the song and they could not bring one over. Then, they are particularly proud of their Christmas song, so they played it out of season anyway. I agree, it is a wonderful, caring song about cuddling up with your loved one on a couch on Christmas Eve. They played the song acoustically in the crowd and it was a perfect gesture.
One song I hadn't heard before is the hoe down tune, Trophy Room. Their upbeat, faster slams are when they two like to go nuts by screaming, hootin' and howlin'. When they started the show with "Because We're Dead" by shouting as loud as they could, then beating down on their drums and guitars. If you weren't at attention, you were when they started their set.
Charles and Rebecca were a little goofy on stage having arrived in New York that day and still feeling th eeffects of trans-Atlantic travel. As they mentioned, they've never been so far from home. In fact, they finished When I Go with laughter because they weren't together. No problem, I still want to pinch their cheeks and buy them milkshakes.
Their songs just feel genuine and heartfelt. The boy-girl vocals conveys a sense of togetherness and harmony. "When I Go" is their finest slow song, a tune about two people who are in love, but are not together. That and songs called "I Was Unconscious, It Was A Dream," "Apples and Pairs" and "Giving Up On Love" will be on their debut album, coming out in May on Moshi Moshi with a U.S. release date soon after, probably in digital form. Even better, they'll be returning in the late summer to play anywhere they can in the U.S.
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