It started with a lofty promise: "What's up lovely people of SXSW. We are Superorganism and we're gonna blow your m****f****** minds!"
What followed lead singer Orono Noguchi's confident introduction was a one-way ticket to the weird and wonderful wavelength of this crew of kooks from all over the place — including South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the U.K., where they now live and create in a shared house in London.
Throughout a set of songs from their inventive, choppy-poppy, psychedelic-sampling debut, Superorganism's three backing singers entertained, with dance moves that included mimed front crawl swimming and rag doll slumping, while Noguchi broke up her delightful deadpan with moments of sudden punk urgency.
As they neared the end of their set, performing the single "Everybody Wants to Be Famous," I kept asking myself why it felt so good to watch Superorganism do what it does. Maybe it's because everyone in the group looks like they're truly being themselves. Maybe it's because they're embodying something that feels new. Maybe it's because the songs are so darn infectious.
And maybe (read: definitely) it's best not to overthink it, but just let go and let Noguchi and Co. live up to the terms she presented at the start.
SET LIST
Credits
Producers: Bruce Warren, Suraya Mohamed, Abby O'Neill, Michele Tharp, Mark Abuzzahab, Mike Henry, Jake Saxbe, Sean Barnicle;Technical Directors: Josh Rogosin, Jake Sam; Videographers: Jara Wallace, Nate Helton, Evan Bozarth, Rahm Carrington, Dylan Rosser, Edward Whitiff;Audio Engineer: Joel Chawick;Photo: Gus Philippas for NPR;Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey.
Special Thanks to SXSW, Stubb's BBQ, and Spire
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