Brooklyn Vegan’s free backyard party in Austin brought together three of the most hotly tipped young bands. First up were Chastity Belt, an all-female group from Seattle whose forthcoming debut album, Time to Go Home, mixes lyrics that are inspired by fourth-wave feminist ideas with jangling guitars that are in the same ballpark as Electrelane.
In a stuffy sunspot of a backyard, the four-piece never quite ignite. They look the part as they all sport Bret “the Hitman” Hart-style sunglasses, but the songs feel like they’re about to drift off on the breeze rather than plant themselves in your memory. Lyrically, the group don’t pull their punches. Drone is a track all about taking on mansplainers, but as a live prospect, at the moment, it lacks the gusto of its words.
The same criticism can’t be made of Mitski, who follows Chastity Belt and immediately grabs people’s attention with a shocking pink bass. As part of a trio, the Brooklyn-based singer, whose album Bury Me at Makeout Creek was a dark horse on many end-of-year lists in 2014, delivers.
On record, her voice is intense, moving from a gentle hum into high-pitched ad libs, and live it’s even more impressive. From opener Townie all the way to the final track – which is somewhere between Willie o Winsbury and a Kate Bush song – she is completely engaging and delivers the kind of performance that doesn’t belong in a concrete yard surrounded by portable toilets.
Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis and her bandmates finish things off. After having taken the stage with comedian Hannibal Buress earlier in the week, they have been the festival’s stand-out band for many. Today, they take their time to get going, with Devin McKnight (who replaced guitarist Matt Robidoux) noticeably struggling through the first few songs; they are new numbers. But by the time they get to Tiger Tank and Plough, the band are operating at the level that’s won them so many fans, hurtling through their complex college rock.
