SXSW Friday: Teen Pop Idols Cuco and Billie Eilish Lead the Charge on Day 2

I eased into my second day at SXSW with classic jangle pop band The Wedding Present. While yesterday's Pale Waves mimicked the aesthetic of ’80s British pop, The Wedding Present (and singer/guitarist David Gedge) lived it. Gedge formed the band in 1985, twisting proto-punk influences like Gang of Four and The Fall with a wry mod flair. They never quite broke through in America — songs like "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft" may have been just a little too British for 1980s American ears — but their influence on modern indie pop is monumental. The band played to the hits at Cheer Up Charlie's, staying firmly within the zone of their best records (1987's George Best and 1988's Bizarro) for a gleeful crowd of dads recording the show on their Canon PowerShots.

Shut out of the Pitchfork showcase at Barracuda, I trekked down Dirty Sixth to check in on Reality Something at The Jackalope. As they close in on the release of their Infinity Cat debut, Reality Something feels almost like a different band from when I saw them at a rooftop showcase populated by dudes wearing Snapchat glasses last year. They're dialed in, confident in their songs and their forthcoming LP. If Bully is Nashville's answer to the revival wave of early ’90s grunge, Reality Something is what comes after — Veruca Salt harmonies and Smashing Pumpkins distortion, but in a distinctly Reality Something package.

Back at Fader Fort, I caught two rising artists from California. In his native Los Angeles, Cuco (the stage name of 19-year-old Omar Banos) is a DIY teen heartthrob. Banos taps into breezy L.A. beach vibes and his own cultural identity as a first-generation Mexican-American, but his greatest asset isn't where he's from. It's his knack for earnest, awkwardly romantic slow jams. Well, that, and a cult of devoted fans who hang on to his every word.

Mozzy, like yesterday's Fader Fort headliners SOBxRBE, is coming into 2018 with a Kendrick Lamar co-sign and a hot track on the Black Panther soundtrack. Since his release from San Quentin in 2015, Mozzy has become one of the most prolific rappers in the game. He's dropped 11 records in two years, and he's putting Sacramento back on the rap map.

For something completely different, Hotel Vegas's catacombs of stages offered glimpses of Golden Dawn Arkestra, purveyors of Sun Ra-inspired intergalactic Texas funk, and Nobunny, a rabbit-themed spectacle that combines costumed performance art with Ramones-esque garage rock.

What really caught me by surprise, though, was indoors. Divide & Dissolve are an Australian instrumental drone metal duo hellbent on dismantling white supremacy. Guitarist Takiaya Reed and drummer Sylvie Nehill build massive, thundering soundscapes that take sharp, surprising turns before doubling down on heaviness. A little later, I caught another instrumental duo — Oslo's Aiming for Enrike at The Hideout — but I couldn't help but keep thinking about Divide & Dissolve through their set.

Back on that local tip, I walked down to Rachael Ray's Feedback House (don't laugh, it kinda rules) to catch Sun Seeker's final SXSW show of the week. Their sunny, Band-inspired take on indie rock was a fine way to spend the golden hour of sunset.

How gutsy is R.LUM.R to play the same song twice in a row for a crowd of Sylvan Esso fans at Lustre Pearl? Flexing both his pop credentials and his classical guitar training, R.LUM.R, the pop project by Nashville singer-songwriter Reggie Williams, played "Close Enough" back-to-back, first as the OG dance jam and second as a contemplative ballad. To Williams' credit, they felt like completely different songs that happened to share the same lyrics, and the crowd of poptimists ate it up.

If SXSW could be personified as a human being, that human might be Billie Eilish. The 16-year-old pop phenom released her debut album last year after a series of viral hits like "Watch" and "Ocean Eyes" propelled her to the watchlists of every modern pop blog in existence. Eilish is all attitude and synchronized dance moves, a hip-hop influenced pop star willing to inhabit new perspectives for songs that shift between cool distance and ferocious intimacy. The only bummer? Technical difficulties and a long set-up cut her set short, including a planned cover of Drake's "Hotline Bling."

I rushed next door to Bungalow to catch the last bit of Slenderbodies, who put out one of my favorite records of last year. Fabulist is a triumph of texture, layering plucky guitars and breathy lilting vocals to produce truly satisfying indie pop. Though I only managed to hear the last songs of their set, the duo's interplay and commitment to vibey pop ranks as one of my SXSW highlights.

The hands-down champ, though, was South Central rapper Duckwrth and his celebration of shaking asses. Taking clear inspiration from rap iconoclasts like The Pharcyde, N.E.R.D. and Anderson .Paak, Duckwrth dispenses with the deadly seriousness that many rising rappers shield themselves behind. While Mozzy represented his streets, Duckwrth represented what matters most to him: being unapologetically himself. Performing alongside a live bassist who clearly has some funk and jazz chops, Duckwrth jumped and danced across Empire Control Room, bidding the crowd to join him in rap reverie.

See our slideshow for more photos.