Put together each year by the popular music aggregation site The Hype Machine, Hype Hotel has become a mainstay of the annual SXSW music festival. Every time the Hotel returns, it gets bigger and better, and this year was no exception, taking over a massive warehouse on the East side of town.
One of our favourite nights was when they delivered a one-two punch of Best Coast – the Los Angeles group fronted by Bethany Cosentino – and Wolf Alice – the North London quartet fronted by the rockin’ Ellie Rowsell. Both groups were powerful tonight in the space, delivering loud sets that worked the crowd (and themselves) into a suitable sweat.
Best Coast, who are pictured above, delivered a stand out set, previewing material from their forthcoming record California Nights, out in May. “Heaven Sent” was a particular highlight, as was the album’s title track. Though they also included tracks like “The Only Place” and “Boyfriend” (which closed out the set), the newer material stood out from the rest. It sounded bigger, played harder and if the performance is any indication, California Nights seems destined to be the best material they’ve put out so far.
And then it was time for Wolf Alice (pictured above and below) to shine – not long after they impressed us in Australia as part of the Falls Festival tour. “Fluffy” opened the set, followed by “Storms” before they moved into newer material coming from their record My Love Is Cool, due out June 23rd. It was well received and shows a maturing band, sitting comfortably along tracks like “Blush” and “Mona Lisa Smile”, which finished up the set ahead of Win Butler’s set as DJ Windows 98.
Wolf Alice are proving themselves a force to be reckoned with in the world of British Rock Music and My Love Is Cool – alongside Best Coast’s California Nights – is ensuring that the world will be treated to some fantastic music as the year progresses.
All photos by the author.
