Three bands, three locations, three differing results. Jon Davies mixes it up at Sound City.
As part of a free show of post-rock/post-hardcore, We Came Out Like Tigers more than held their own against a strong line up.
A youthful quartet, WCOLT were a history lesson in the emocore genre, featuring urgent Rites of Spring riffing, lead singer/violinist Simon Barr‘s impressive vocal reminiscent of Orchid, and more modern influences ranging from the dance-punk of Foals and mini epics akin to Thursday.
The band are by no means the finished product, the longer slow-burners were certainly more impressive than the wirey disco-beat songs, nevertheless WCOLT are set of drive more visceral energy in the Liverpool indie scene.
Much has already been said about Indica Ritual who have cemented their place in the Liverpool alternative rock scene, but the surroundings of Alma made their set that more impressive than usual. If you didn’t know already, Indica take pointers from new wave legends Devo and Talking Heads, but by now have made their sound totally their own and a million miles from any other band in the UK currently.
Indica Ritual have grown in confidence and precision, no longer sounding clunky and unnecessarily chaotic, but that does not mean they have lost any of the intense energy their live performances are known for.
Talking Heads’ David Byrne once sang about a band in ‘Heaven’, with Indica’s amazing stage presence on Alma’s altar, he may have prophesised about this band.
Indica Ritual
Hailing from Indiana, David Michael Stith and his band have sent small waves of excitement through critical acclaim, with his record ‘Heavy Ghost‘, a beautifully tender and odd set of folk songs in the same vein of Grizzly Bear and Sam Amidon, thanks to orchestral moments and strange electronic blips.
Tonight he is only equipped with a minimal set of instruments, instead giving the bare essentials of his music, which therefore is just soothing alt country.
For fans of DM Stith the set was undoubtedly lacking in the understated grandiosity of his record, however for first time listeners who were waiting for Mugstar and Get the Blessing Stith and his band captivated the audience with funereal backbeats and the violin and cello in the group augmenting the singer’s sweet lilting melodies that perfectly complimented the serene Leaf Tea surroundings.
We Came Out Like Tigers
DM Stith
Indica Ritual