I Vacation in SXSW: Hundred Waters playing the Stereogum Day Party at Hype Machine 3/15/13

Hundred Waters – Thistle @ Elestial Sound SXSW Showcase from Tiny Waves on Vimeo.

It’s always nice to take a bit of a break from all the starkly harsh dark beauty of goth-electro and bathe for a moment in something a little refreshing and delicious as I did on Friday, 3/15, at the Stereogum SXSW Day Party at Hype Machine. The group I saw was quite new to me. I was there, frankly, to imbibe a bit on some free Tito’s Vodka at the open bar and meet up with a cool cat I met the night before. The group was an electronic outfit from out of Gainesville, FL called Hundred Waters of whom I’ve never heard. However, the guy I came to meet says they’ve been getting some buzz especially since signing with Skrillex’s OWSLA record label last year. Their sound lends itself well to a nice slow dancing groove one does when one wants to chill after a night of debauchery stuck in Pandora’s box! Their sound is a equal parts Jazz, Folk, and Electronica, mixed with complex breakbeats and sweet sounding vocals. What came to my mind whilst experiencing them for the first time, or at least what I jotted down, was that they reminded me of Braids and Grimes, with a bit of Bjork thrown into the mix. Hm? It seems lately I’ve been throwing Grimes’ name out there a few too many times in describing the sound of many of the electronic groups I’ve been listening to fronted by female vocalists here at SXSW this year. The sound associated with her is everywhere. However, when I first heard Grimes, when it was just she and her synthesizer, I remember texting a friend of mine, a huge Cranes fan, and describing Grimes as a dancy, but still minimalist, Alison Shaw. So perhaps this particular group, Hundred Waters, does have a touch of the Goth? Even if it’s just a tiny pinch.