SXSW Music 2022: Our Must-See Artists

Hearts on their sleeves

With the likes of Olivia Rodrigio and Machine Gun Kelly bringing guitar-based pop back to the charts, and the announcement of the When We Were Young music festival setting social media on fire, there seems to be an appetite. for pop music that is more punk and emotional. between teenagers and nostalgic millennials. If you’re looking to soothe that intense itch at SXSW, here are some actions you should consider.

Pom Pom Squad

Mia Berren leads this Brooklyn-based bubblegrunge outfit that combines the tunes of emo with vocals from the best indie bands of the early 2000s. If you’re one of the millions rocking “Good 4″ U” by Olivia Rodrigio this summer, Pom Pom Squad is a logical next step, offering something a little more mature and sexy; if Rodrigo is for popular girls, Pom Pom Squad is for the drunks below the stands. Pom Pom Squad’s recent output also conveys the cinematic and melodramatic qualities of ’60s girl groups, adding an element of out-of-reach ethereal to the band’s soaring statements.

Stream this: “Head Cheerleader”

I’m REX

Experimental and emotional, ME REX is precisely named after a prehistoric creature with sharp teeth, because its music will bring tears to your eyes. The brainchild of South London-based singer-songwriter Myles McCabe, ME REX combines a musical punch with long, drifting lyrics with an almost religious tune. Thematically, their music seems to focus on the ever-changing nature of the human experience, and in their latest release /Megabear/, they focus on the theme with an album of 52 shifts. track full of small sized songs used in random order. It’s a gimmick, and more impressively, it acts like a series of movies. Finding out how well it transitions into a live context seems too tempting to ignore.

Stream this online: Megabear

Enumclaw

A key factor that makes alternative rock attractive is accessibility; Unlike classical rock artists and studio wizards, the popular bands of the alternative rock world have made picking up a guitar and carrying your heart out to be something that anyone can also be achieved. Pacific Northwest band Enumclaw embodies that feeling better than any band at SXSW. Frontman Aramis Johnson had never played guitar and had no singing experience before forming the band, but Enumclaw stands out for his mix of archetypal Seattle guitar lines and sticky pop hooks. The band considers that both Oasis and Drake are highly influential, and if that’s any indication, these guys have world-conquering ambitions.