Noise Pop '15: No Joy

NOISE POP '15

NO JOY

W/DEVON WILLIAMS, VANIISH, and CHASMS

BOTTOM OF THE HILL, SAN FRANCISCO

27 FEBRUARY, 2015
 

The Sleater-Kinney road trip put a giant hole in the month of February, selling out my traditional venture to San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival. In lieu of the whole shot, I picked one show, and it was a winner. Montreal's No Joy put together a handful of West Coast shows around this appearance, with this night featured a particularly loaded lineup. Returning to Bottom Of The Hill, a beacon amidst the warehouses of the Avenues, an early arrival was imperative, considering... Things kicked off in the most literal of ways, with the reverential noisescapes of Chasms, riding the wave of last years Subtle Bodies LP, setting up the darkwave of VANIISH, with Keven Tecon (Wax Idols) stepping out to bring his visions to life, transforming a stellar debut into something much more on stage, with the help of his intuitive band, also featuring Wax Idols' Amy Rosenoff. Having found a home on Slumberland Records,  LA's Devon Williams skewed the mood with a set heavy on the power pop goodness, but with enough rough edges to keep the crowd engaged. With a new LP on the horizon in the summer, it was back to business time for No Joy, and the quartet led by guitarists Laura Lloyd and Jasamine White-Gluz stayed true to form, unleashing melodic treats both new and old, cocooned in waves of shredded guitar. Banging through their set with little formality or pause, just pure sonic assualt, and before you knew it, they were laughing and tearing down their equipment, the job done.

NO JOY

 

DEVON WILLIAMS

VANIISH

CHASMS

On The Road With Chasms

CHASMS

THE COMPOUND, SAN LUIS OBISPO

30 MAY, 2014

Huddled in the shadows of the San Luis Obispo airport lies The Compound. The control tower light carves out the night sky, momentarily throwing the industrial surroundings into stark relief. For a band that courts the shadows, there could be no finer setting. Recently we caught up with Chasms on their home turf of San Francisco as they shook off the dust and prepared for the next step. The next step for Chasms is a forthcoming LP release, Subtle Bodies, that cherry picks their EP's: When It Comes and Riser, and adds a stunning new track. It's available to pre-order at Sleep Genius, and is the impetus for a series of Southern California shows to spread the word, with the duo joining All My Sisters to play shows in Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Monica, leading up to a full-fledged release bash at the Milk Bar, back in The City, in mid June. Tonight in SLO was the second stop, and found them already in mid-tour form, cranking out their set with verve, surrounded by a small but vocal crowd. What started as a noise-based communion, (or should that be Based Noise), is evolving into something special. Highlights can be found below, including a stellar take on the title track of the Riser EP. May their road be smooth...

After the set, the scene evolved into a full-fledged house party, and after a week on the road myself, it was nice to feel like I was at home. The Compound, to fill in the gaps, is the hideaway/studio space of Some Ember, who have an LP of their own out, and it's been occupying a lot of my earspace lately. A special shout out to their hospitality, and we'll look forward to catching up with them in the future.

Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death: Sleep Genius Showcase

SLEEP GENIUS SHOWCASE w/RINGO DEATHSTARR

BAD NEWS/CHASMS/NEVER KNOWS/CRY

THEE PARKSIDE, SF, CA

10 MAY 2014

A recent field trip to San Francisco yielded great dividends in the form of a Sleep Genius Records showcase at Thee Parkside. Special guest Ringo Deathstarr from Austin, Texas held down the headliner slot, putting a cap on a lineup that otherwise spoke to the vision and diversity of the label. Bad News, Chasms, Never Knows, and Cry filled out the bill, each bringing their own twist to the proceedings. Cry kicked off the label's first showcase since their formation a few years back, and the male/female synth duo was perfectly placed, a party starter if ever there was one, rocking their Rolands with an attack reminiscent of the late Handsome Furs. Covering Prince's "Nothing Compares 2U" was merely the icing on the cake. Never Knows picked up the gauntlet, sticking with the machine theme, but taking things to a darker place entirely. The beauty of the dark wave of '80's dance music was its insistence on The Journey, that it would take you somewhere, as opposed to the weak-kneed Sudoku of much of today's EDM, and whoever the mysterious Never Knows may be, he adheres to that statute, knowing that it is, to paraphrase those great American philosophers Funkadelic, the brain that will set the behind free. Any friend of these pages is more than likely already conversant with SF dark noise duo Chasms, (Jess Labrador and Sky Madden), whom we last encountered earlier this year in Davis, CA. This evening marked their first hometown show of the year, and the evidence is viewable below, from the opening notes to the closing chaos, the siren song remains the same. The big news on their front is an upcoming LP, Subtle Bodies, and a series of Southern California shows celebrating the release, one of which we will most certainly catch. Bad News hews back to the early days of industrial, before the dance element was totally sandbagged for nu-metal. The duo was anchored by the intense stage presence of Sarah Bernat, while Alex S. Lukas churned up great clouds of noise. Highlight of their set was the song that took the phrase 'Apologize' through commanding repetition to a universal accusation on into salvation. Utterly overwhelming and spellbinding. Ringo Deathstarr more than lived up to their name, with the trio kicking out dark clouds of shoegaze goodness, unflummoxed by recurring sound issues, they kept it short and taut and winning, working out songs from their new LP God's Dream. While it was hard to recreate the lushness of the vocals with mic issues, they kept the overall volume loud enough to get lost in the waves of sound. It was great to finally catch them live, and a good opportunity for them as a tuneup for their forthcoming tour which sees them working from their homebase in Texas up to NYC, where they'll pick up a number of shows across the North and Midwest opening up for Peter Murphy.

RINGO DEATHSTARR

BAD NEWS

CHASMS

NEVER KNOWS

CRY