Peaks of the Week: May 14-20
By Matt Ashworth
Wednesday, May 16
Stereo Suns @ The Sunset
Stereo Sons are the current project of long-time NadaMucho.com favorite Chris Klepac, the primary songwriter for alt-country cult faves Hex County. We like his songs so much we even put one on our 2008 compilation Sounds from the Seattle Underground. Stereo Sons first album, Our Own Devices, brought some keyboards and other electronic elements into the mix, and there’s no telling what they’re up to on the follow up slated for release later this year. Tomorrow night at the Sunset you’ll get a chance to hear some of that new material, recordded with producer Frank Mazzeo (Viper Creek Club, Fleet Foxes, Common Market). Chris says he and the band are “expanding our use of samples to create weird, gnarly soundscapes and make the live show more of a big sensory experience.” Should be good times.
Thursday, May 17
The Grizzled Mighty & Sugar Sugar Sugar @ The Crocodile
The Grizzled Mighty are on a short list of local “Durge” bands, Durge being the name of a new musical genre invented by NadaMucho.com contributor TBASA to describe an emerging group of Seattle bands that also includes The Underwater Tiger, The Villains, The Naked Feel Goods, The Springboards, The Whoopsie Daisies and The Turpentines. Tim explains the Durge sound as “songs that express mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral” combined with “the spirit of the 1996 Coca-Cola product Surge.”
Friday, May 18
The Fucking Eagles @ The Funhouse
Grayskul @ The Sunset
The Fucking Eagles play amped-up 50s garage rock in a similar style as the Detroit Cobras, who stopped through Seattle earlier this month. These guys are from right down the way in Tacoma, though, and are lead by John Atkins from former Sub Pop recording artists Seaweed.
Meanwhile at the Sunset, Seattle hip-hop crew Grayskul continue the comeback the started late last year. These guys (MCs Onry Ozzborn and JFK of the Old Dominion collective and bassist Rob Castro of the New Mexicans) were doing the clever gothic hip-hop schtick long before those California cats in Odd Future could even drive themselves to the record store. At one point in the mid 00s I thought Grayskul was destined for national success, but they dissappeared after 2007’s Deadlivers before the rest of the nation caught up to them. Check them out Friday as part of KEXP’s Hood to Hood Challenge, which featurs all sorts of great local bands.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cqxtRhSMYQ]
Saturday, May 19
Love Battery @ Lo-Fi
With unique, inventive songs, fuzzy guitars and tons of hooks, Love Battery are one of my all-time favorite Sub Pop bands from the original grunge era. Their record Dayglo is a classic and the 10 inch single for “Between the Eyes” saw more spins on my turntable than just about any other piece of wax. TBASA caught their show at The Mix last October and shot this video. The recording isn’t great, but it sounds like they still put on a hell of a show.
Sunday, May 20
Schoolboy Q @ Neumos
Sometimes hip-hop is at it’s best when it’s everything people don’t want it to be: an ode to hustlin’, doin’ dirt and getting fucked up. The songs I’ve heard of Schoolboy Q’s Habits & Contradictions”mark the first time I’ve been excited about this kind of music since the formative years of gangster rap, so I’m curious to hear the album and see what he does live. Check “There He Go” for a taste.