TTSSFU, cootie catcher, Sex Mask + more to play Best Fit’s official SXSW party

True to our mission of bringing the vanguard of new music to a wider audience, this year’s lineup is a carefully selected snapshot of talent from across the world: the artists we've had on repeat over the last twelve months. Our artists this year come from the far flung corners of the globe – Australia, Iceland, Canada, and New Zealand, as well as the UK – and from some of our favourite labels including Partisan, PNKSLM and Carpark. They'll be joining us on the Patio stage at the Swan Dive, our home at SXSW since 2018, for an incredible evening during the best showcase festival in the world.

TSSFU [lead photo] is the solo project of 23-year-old Wigan-born Tasmin Stephens. Formerly part of post-punk band Duvet, Stephens signed to Partisan Records (Geese, IDLES, Cigarettes After Sex) and has become one of the most exciting and delightfully unpredictable new artists of the last year. Don't call her music shoegaze or alt-pop — it's bigger than that; a deeply personal fusion of '90s grunge, lo-fi bedroom pop, and the eerie, experimental textures of artists like Xiu Xiu. Fraser T. Smith compared her work to Sky Ferreira if she had grown up in the grey north of England.

Listen: "Upstairs"

Toronto indie pop band cootie catcher's chaotic blend of acoustic instruments, glitchy electronics, and playful vocal harmonies channels the unshackled energy of childhood through the lens of young adulthood. Formed during the pandemic, the band built buzz through support slots for Alvvays and Ducks Ltd. and released their second album Shy at First in March last year. Signing to Carpark Records for their third album – Something We All Got, released this week – their unfiltered emotional directness and irresistibly quirky energy are a singular and colourful force in Toronto's indie scene.

Listen: "sound out the vowels"

Bringing together a visceral mix of post-punk, no-wave, and industrial influences, Melbourne trio Sex Mask formed when vocalist and lyricist Wry Gray and drummer and producer Vicente Moncada bonded over music in high school and formed a duo, blending Gray's experimental rap with Moncada's post-punk instrumentals. The lineup was completed when guitarist and synth player Kaya Martin joined after hearing their debut single, "How To Be Cool At Parties". The band released their debut EP, No Love, in June last year and followed up with support slots for the likes of Fat Whites, Fcukers and Big Special; they were also a highlight at last year's Great Escape in Brighton.

Listen: "Cold"

The music project of New Zealand-born singer-songwriter Shaun Blackwell, Hemi Hemingway creates what he describes as a "total yearnfest" — a cinematic blend of 1950s crooner romance, 1960s rock-and-roll, and gothic 1980s post-punk and new romantic influences. The name "Hemi" was chosen as a nod to his Māori heritage, allowing him to express his connection to an identity from which he has often felt detached. His second album, Wings of Desire, was released this month via quality Stockholm indie label PNKSLM Recordings and represents a creative evolution, incorporating more collaborative production and deeper exploration of ‘80s new wave aesthetics.

Listen: "Desiree"

The songwriting of Sarah Meth has seen the young North London-born artist create her own brand of dream-pop, cut through with a savvy, self-deprecating perspective. She's toured with the likes of King Krule, was a finalist in last year's Green Man Rising and Glastonbury Emerging Talent competitions and back in 2024 she covered The Smiths for Best Fit's secret sessions at End of the Road Festival.

Listen: "Bromance is Dead"

We stumbled upon Amor Vincit Omnia – 'Love Conquers All' – in the early hours of the morning playing a pyjama party in a Reykjavík cinema foyer 18 months back. Made up of producer Baldur Skúlason and singer Erla Hlín Guðmundsdóttir, the Icelandic duo are inspired by Jockstrap, Kate Bush, and Björk and their eccentric bedroom electro-pop has been bubbling under ever since, captured brilliantly on new EP Extended Babe, realised this past week.

Listen: "Adagio"