Tamaryn at SXSW

Having hit the ground running yesterday for our first day in Austin – kicking off with a ecstatic midday set from space urchin Grimes (review here) – by 11pm I was just hitting the ground. One bloodied knee later I was ready to give in to the jetlag but then a last drink at Mexican Summer + Gorilla Vs Bear’s do at Klub Krucial saved me. Or rather the woman up on stage with the long brown hair did. Tamaryn on record is perfectly lovely. Tamaryn live, however, has rejuvenating qualities. Against projections of the bluest water rippling on the wall behind her, she sang deep into the crowd’s eyes with that low, molasses voice of hers. My cloudy head didn’t take in the words but it grabbed hold of the feeling. It was a drive-all-night-to-get-to-you feeling. A lean-on-me feeling. A been-around-the-world feeling. If that sounds a little MOR, it wouldn’t be far off and that’s no diss. Because there’s something very universal about Tamaryn’s music: swirling, velvety, psychedelic rock with mass appeal. It speaks from a yearning heart and to them too. It was a deep sigh of a set and over too fast. She flipped the night and then disappeared off into it.