SXSW Platters

South

South never quite regained the critical attention afforded them for their 2000 debut, Overused, which paired the London trio with UNKLE's James Lavelle to sometimes frustrating effect, although they've released three LPs in the interim. You Are Here finds them eschewing their early, post-electronica sound for a sparer, more organic, and ultimately melancholy one that never sounds less than insistently intimate. "Wasted," with its meshing of a repeated piano/guitar motif, recalling Ennio Morricone at points, and Joel Cadbury's whispery, haunting vocals ("Is it time to make a start? Is it time to fall apart?") sets the tone for what's to come: the Freddie Mercury-meets-Nick Drake-isms of microtrack "Balloons," the feedbacky squall of full-fledged rocker "Lonely Highs," and the unadorned acoustic brilliance of "The Creeping," all of which just go to prove, again, how unexpectedly brilliant South remains. (Friday, March 14, Creekside @ Hilton Garden, 1am.)