Populism is on the rise, repressive governments act with impunity and the wealth gap steadily widens, but punks across the globe are still channeling their discontent and rage into music that is worth a listen. Punk has so many permutations these days that nailing down the sound is a fool’s errand, but luckily at SXSW, we get to imbibe it all in one week. So we’ve compiled five international groups that are going to make the end of the world, a party worth going too.
Amyl & The Sniffers (AUS)
An explosive punk band from Melbourne, Amyl and the Sniffers quickly developed a reputation for their unhinged live performances, in which manic lead singer Amy Taylor can often be seen crowd surfing or climbing up the walls.
Otoboke Beaver (JAP)
A punk-rock-garage quartet from Kyoto, their off-kilter self taught compositional and confrontational performance skills, together with the band’s incredible musicianship make for a thrilling and unmissable live act.
Drinking Boys & Girls Choir (KOR)
Drinking Boys and Girls Choir are a skate-punk trio from Daegu City that sing in Korean and English, making for a dynamic sonic range embracing melodic hardcore, pop-punk and indie rock. Their songs tackle unreasonable government, police power and the corruption of Park Geun-hye’s government.
Nancy (UK)
The enigmatic songwriter was raised in subdued North East England and not unlike many others, Nancy dressed & acted in ways that seemed out-of-the-ordinary. Combined with androgynous and abnormal physical features, “Nancy” was both a punchline &label throughout the songwriter’s formative years
Psychedelic Porn Crumpet (AUS)
Take the trail out of Perth via Leederville and keep on driving, and you might just stumble across an old horse shed – one where weirdness roams free. Across the bridge from said shed, house parties rage until the early hours and beyond, while around the corner there’s a sky-high pile of trash that acts as a makeshift home for the local rat population. It’s here, amongst jam sessions that would last six-hours plus, that the wacky, sprawling sound of Psychedelic Porn Crumpets was born.