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Jun 03, 2023 Web Exclusive By Jennifer Irving Photography by Jennifer Irving

Under the Radar’s Jennifer Irving went to this year’s South-By-Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.

Here are her best moments from the worlds of music and film.

Music:

Coco and Clair Clair put on probably the most fun show I saw at South by. Their songs are not very long but are incredibly punchy. They open by saying things like, “This song is about having a crush on a guy who’s a little ugly. It happens to the best of us” and then perform lines like “You kinda look like a duck / But a bitch might start quackin’” so seriously that you can’t help but have a good time. With a setlist full of short and catchy indie pop, Coco and Clair Clair bring small pieces of internet humour into snappy tunes that are just fun. Teethe is a band I found while at a show for another band but immediately knew I liked. The Texas natives played a slower and darker-sounding set than some of the other daytime shows I saw, but it was one that captivated the crowd from the moment they started playing. The five-piece is definitely one to watch.

Indigo De Souza was undoubtedly a must see for everyone at SXSW this year. Her sets mixed some of her older songs with early looks at her newest album that came out about a month and half later at the end of April. Her music is essential festival music; most of the time it’s even better live. Earnest, gritty, and full of feeling, De Souza’s music was made to be played in front of people and loved swaying alongside other people at local venues.

Future Museums thoughtful ambient music was a stand out. Their laid back set was the kind that pulls you in and spits you back out, making you forget that you’ve been standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers for an entire 45-minute set.

Peel Dream Magazine was the last band I was able to catch at SXSW and was one of the best. They played a stripped down set in the corner of a wine bar, which really felt like a performance at the heart of what makes the festival so special. Their music is ethereal and dreamy and feels very conceptual. Their latest album Pad is a seventies-inspired bedtime story come to life.

Film:

“Bottoms” is the newest feature from writing-directing duo Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott. It’s also one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Before the film’s premiere, the audience was given only a slight hint as to what we were about to watch: That whatever we thought we were going into, it was nothing like that.

Described by Sennott afterwards as “horny, gay ‘Fight Club’,” “Bottoms” is the high-school satire we deserve. Leads Sennott and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri decide to start a fight club to hook up with the girls they’ve been pining over for most of high school. It makes sense to say that things don’t go as planned, but then again, what is the proper planned outcome for a high school girls fight club? Wild, unpredictable, and hilarious at almost every moment, “Bottoms” will be a standout of this year on its release in late August.

“I Used to be Funny” is the debut feature from writer/director Ally Pankiw starring this year’s SXSW favourite Rachel Sennott, who plays Sam Cowell, an aspiring comedian recovering from PTSD. When the girl she used to nanny for goes missing, Sam begins to confront the things that have happened to her and where to go from there. “I Used to be Funny” is heartbreaking and darkly funny, and examines how we deal with trauma in a nuanced and honest way.

“Self Reliance” is not just the newest Lonely Island production, but also Jake Johnson’s directing debut. It follows a man, Tommy, played by Johnson, stuck in a mindless routine after the breakup of a 20-year relationship. After being followed, Tommy finds out he has been chosen to be part of a game show on the dark web where he has to survive 30 days without being killed by a “hunter” to receive a million dollars. The reason Johnson agrees is because of the single loophole: he can’t be killed if he’s with another person. The only issue is no one in his life believes him.

Full of an hour and a half of absurdly hilarious one liners, the movie is less predictable than it sometimes sets itself up to be. Johnson’s directing is more gritty and artsier than to be expected and Anna Kendrick gives one of her best performances in years.

South-By-Southwest (SXSW) 2024 takes place from March 8-16, 2024. For more information visit their Official Website.