What Thumpers Learned at SXSW

Okay, so when we told London band Thumpers to write about their first ever SXSW we expected them to file promptly on Monday, when everyone was still talking about the Austin festival. But chances are if you're in a band it's not because you're big on punctuality. Thumpers handed in their homework late. We would rap those boys across the knuckles and give them a spank on the rump except the Sub Pop-signed band are currently all the way on the West Coast. They haven't had any time off since Austin— they've been touring their socks off—so we'll let them off with a misdemeanor and a promise that they'll do us a Noisey Acoustics session when they make their NYC debut later this year.

If you haven't heard of Thumpers, why haven't you been paying attention? We've been banging on about them since last year because their music sounds like pure joy and their debut album, Galore, was released on Sub Pop last month. Get it.

Over to you boys… Words by Marcus Pepperell (singer), photos by John Hamson Jr (drums), and Oliver Smith (keys).

Thumpers from the rear. Photo by: @kstack.

PLAY MUSIC IF YOU'RE NOT WATCHING IT

if you’re lucky enough to get to SXSW then you should probably be playing as many times as possible in as many places as possible. because, y’know, there are 2000 other bands playing. and some of them have pun names on their side (wow). so you have to up your game. luckily anywhere in austin with more than one wall to prop up against will be happy to host your band. we played 2 diners, 1 hotel lobby and 1 bike shop during our stint.

This is Marcus. He sings and plays guitar in Thumpers. He also wrote this piece.

This is Oli. He plays keys in Thumpers and is really good at ART and sitting on amps.

WATCH MUSIC IF YOU'RE NOT PLAYING IT

Jesus it was amazing how many people we ran into this week who couldn’t name any of the shows they’d seen for whatever reason. And they’d always seem to expect props for that feat too, which is weird because it is, of course, pathetic and, woah, doubly so if you’re an artist there. Shame on you, artist! Not to get evangelical about it, but if you're doing it right, this festival will reconfirm your true and just belief in the primal, tectonic, darkness-obliterating power of live music. Our personal highlights were:

- All of Kelley Deal's mesmerising vocals with R. Ring at Sub Pop's North Door showcase.

DEBBIE!

- Dum Dum girls inviting Debbie Harry on stage with them for a version of "Dreaming."

- Slaves' "Where's Your Car, Debbie?" The best song about Tunbridge Wells ever. Possibly the only song about Tunbridge Wells.

ST VINCENT!

- St Vincent and her band who didn't stop being awesome from the moment they robo-stepped onto the Stubb's stage until the awful second they left it. It was the best gig this band have seen for an age.

FUTURE ISLANDS! (Thumpers did not take this.)

- Future Islands' eyebrows. We could watch Samuel Herring's facial expressions on a screensaver loop foreverrrr.

Near-naked Thumpers! SWIM
Barton Springs is just out of town is like an elixir. Go.

BUDDY UP

ROLLERCOASTERS
Thumpers hail from the country that invented a dog competition called Crufts—of course our rollercoasters are no good!Sso, against the advice of every Austin-ite we met, we drove out of town for one of our days off before the festival started to revel in the monstrous puke fest that is Six Flags San Antonio. And we don't regret a thing. Here's a photo of us being dorks, because you cannot play good music unless you've fully explored the spectrum of G-force mechanics the previous day.

SAUCE IS YOUR FRIEND
SAUCE. Y’know? Sauce. It’s good for you, with the moisture and that, especially when you’re hungover-sunburnt. Austin has sooo many great food trucks and restaurants and not one of them is ashamed to use condiments to their competitive advantage. I had a Texan french toast turkey sandwich with strawberry jam AND chipotle dressing in it (from Gonzo truck, 1104 E6th Street) and didn’t shut the fuck up about it for two days after. This photo is from Frank on 4th and Colorado. The tomato sauce at 311 Detroit Pizza (1111 E6th street) ruled too, but the best part about sauce is how much more food you can fit in using it as lubricant. We ate at salt lick BBQ at Driftwood and their spicy sauce is unreal-good. On the way back into town along Nutty Brown Road—a name that took on pretty harrowing connotations when in the grip of the meat sweats later—we had to pull over twice just to lean against lampposts and pray that our digestive tracts didn't come unstitched. Totally worth it.

Thumpers are finishing off their West Coast Tour. Go see them. 3.21 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
3.22 - Seattle, WA - Barboza

Also follow them on Twitter

- @thumpers