Pygmalion just dropped some pretty excellent additions a few hours back — namely Cut Copy, Washed Out and the Dodos. Also on the bill is local electronic artist D-Roka and Champaign turned Chicago group Good Night & Good Morning, who played one of the best (and under-attended) Pygmalion sets in memory opening for Low back in 2008.
Cut Copy – The Australian electro-poppers have been inescapable since In Ghost Colors dropped in 2008, causing the electronic-leaning world to shit its collective pants. While the band’s main stylistic reference point is Discovery-era Daft Punk, they know their way around a song in a manner that French robots could never understand. Depeche Mode might, though. Seeing a band this big Also: this light show is going to approach critical mass when it’s put in the Canopy. Especially the laser-mirror-door thing.
Washed Out – “How is it out there, guys? Seems pretty chill“
That’s actual stage banter from Washed Out’s Pitchfork set. We know because we actually bothered to write it down. While there’s something vaguely hilarious about seeing the band of the moment play to type at Pitchfork each year (best guess for 2011 hilarity: Odd Future), Georgia’s Ernest Greene has musical chops to back it up, with impossibly lush soundscapes, exemplified by 2009’s “Feel It All Around” (below). While the whole chillwave thing may not always get the benefit of the doubt, it’s obvious that Washed Out is one of the genre’s leading lights.
The Dodos – There’s no getting around the fact that the Dodos are kind of weird. While plenty of groups do the rushing tribal percussion thing (looking at you, Animal Collective), few pull it off as tightly or effortlessly as these guys. The fairly ridiculous degree of syncopation and technical nuance doesn’t hurt, either. We hear rumblings of a show at Paradiso, and their oddball stylings should fit in well there.
Pygmalion passes are available through the festival website. Single-show tickets for Explosions in the Sky, Cut Copy / Washed Out and the Polyvinyl 15th Anniversary Party are on-sale at noon Friday.