Brazos

by Shelley Hiam

• Live Shots

  SXSW showcase reviews

• Daptone Soul Revue

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• The Enemy

  BY TIM STEGALL

• Pissed Jeans

  BY GREG BEETS

• Braids

  BY MELANIE HAUPT

• Big K.R.I.T.

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Café Tacuba, Molotov, Bajofondo, Jovanotti

  BY DAN OKO

• Brazos

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Föllakzoid

  BY MICHAEL TOLAND

• The Legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section: The Swampers

  BY JIM CALIGIURI

• Sound City Players

  BY AUSTIN POWELL

• Public Enemy, Doug E. Fresh

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

Brazos

Local trio Brazos broke a guitar string early in the second song, setting a precedent not for the band's greenness, but rather its tenacity and wholly enveloping performance. Lead singer and guitarist Martin Crane remarked, "I never break a string," while retuning his guitar, but that didn't break the band's stride. Each member seemed lost in their own world, playing at once as separate, serious entities, and a swirling, lovely, cohesive unit. A leader on his toes the entire time, the long-haired bassist shaking his mane in a persistent thump, and an energetic, focused drummer tapping out his beat signaled that after a extended hiatus, they're back with a vengeance. While the set relied on cuts from 2009's Phosphorescent Blues, the last two tunes glimpsed at upcoming May 28 release Saltwater. "Gunk" tapped Brazos' usual indie-pomp, while "Charm," which already has a music video, took a poppier spin on the band's Neutral Milk Hotel influence.