Operation Every Band (OEB)

Mar 7, 2024 | operationeveryband.com | Kevin McStravick |Kevin Mcstravick

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 4Pairs Well With…Band of Horses, Sunny Day Real Estate, Minus the BearThe last time The Appleseed Cast played SXSW was the first year I started writing about bands, now returning since thirteen years back and still honing their unique indie/math-rock sound. Even to get to the veteran band’s latest music brings us back five years, but that record, The Fleeting Light of Impermanence, holds up just as well as their 90s and 2000s material.

Mar 7, 2024 | operationeveryband.com | Kevin McStravick |Kevin Mcstravick

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 10Pairs Well With…The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Noah KahamFor a band with a string of rock hits, many times it’s most interesting to see what happens once the waves recede, a place we find X Ambassadors eight years past their breakout record VHS. The anthemic, hook-focused band have released two records since that do continue their catchy, stomp-and-holler sound.

Mar 7, 2024 | operationeveryband.com | Kevin McStravick |Kevin Mcstravick

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 6Pairs Well With…Alex G, La Luz, The GrowlersWorn-Tin is a power-pop artist at his core, but he comes at it from a DIY, psych-rock angle that sands down his sound nicely. The Californian brings in surf-rock and mellow-pop influences in his music at well, a quality that keeps his sound grounded even when dream-like melodies try to take his songs on a trip.

Mar 7, 2024 | operationeveryband.com | Kevin McStravick |Kevin Mcstravick

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 5Pairs Well With…Wednesday, The Last Dinner Party, Blondshell Breezy pop/rock and shoegaze density meet in wilt’s music, balancing raw, garage qualities with catchy songwriting. The LA-based band has an overall warm sound though, intersecting busy moments with surf-rock melodies and power-pop sweetness. The yin and yang sides of wilt don’t grate against each other and instead sound seamless on their early singles and previews from an EP due in April.

Mar 7, 2024 | operationeveryband.com | Kevin McStravick |Kevin Mcstravick

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 4Pairs Well With…Anderson Paak, Hans., Ted Park Wez Atlas is moving from a laid-back, hip hop artist artist to a fusion experimenter on his latest record This Too Shall Pass and follow-up single “RUN”. Funk, pop-punk, indie rock, EDM - these genres aren’t just targeted track to track, but are thrown together and unleashed all at once. It’s a vibe that is fun and a little off-kilter, balanced by classic-rap influences forming the backbone of his sound.