The People's Revolutionary Choir

The People's Revolutionary Choir

London psych-rock sextet the People's Revolutionary Choir drew the SXSW makeshift venue booby prize Thursday night when they showcased in a hotel conference room better suited to an insurance seminar. At least the chairs were comfortable. Despite the oddball setting and sparse attendance, the PRC delivered a short, high-decibel psychedelia set driven by a groovy rhythmic undertow. Hints of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd commingled with shades of the Jesus & Mary Chain, but the band's astute songwriting kept them from being reduced to the sum of their influences. As they unleashed soaring numbers like "The Breeze That Blows," vocalist Lal Townsend wasn't content just to blend in with the drone. Instead, he sang over the fuzzy din like a lovesick man proclaiming his undying fealty from the top of a mountain. The band closed with "Do You Feel Like I Do," a perfectly ethereal slice of orange sunshine that has nothing to do with Peter Frampton. Unless you've been keeping up with the Brits, it might be the best single you didn't hear last year. If the PRC can muster an entire album of songs like this, they won't be playing to a half-empty hotel conference room next year.