Spirit of the Beehive, Deeper
Spirit of the Beehive: Ever since SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE released their self-titled debut in 2014, they’ve developed a reputation for being your favorite band’s favorite band. Theirs is the music of immersion, of confrontation, the kind that makes a listener stop and wonder, “How are they even doing that?” And as the years wear on, that sense of bafflement has made room for SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE to quietly but steadily ascend, with their most recent album, 2018’s Hypnic Jerks, leaving them poised on the precipice of wider recognition. Deeper: Deeper’s Origins date back to 2014 when prior to releasing any material an abrupt line-up change left the Chicago based band looking for a new direction. Singer and guitarist Nic Gohl along with drummer Shiraz Bhatti threw out all of their old songs and brought on bassist Drew McBride to round out the lineup. The subsequent demos leaned on intricate guitar interplay, direct “of the times” vocals and a spirit that speaks to the band’s collective place in this pit of endless internet.
Kossisko w/ Seb Torgus & Joe Wax
Kossisko When Kossisko first burst onto the scene as 100s — a slick-talking, perm-wearing rapper in the lineage of Too $hort and Snoop Dogg — his charisma was immediately captivating. The pimp rapper pesona, and the ’70s-inspired aesthetic, that the Berkeley-born artist refined on 2012’s Ice Cold Perm and 2014’s IVRY earned him a cult fan base that clung to his every gamed-laced word. But, in the midst of this success, he began to feel boxed in and disconnected from the role he’d created. “I hit a ceiling and I couldn’t express myself how I wanted to,” he says now. “I didn’t want to be playing a character.” In 2015, Kossisko set out on a divergent course, adopting his given first name as his moniker and exploring other influences that ranged from Prince to Marilyn Manson. “I never say never but I didn’t think I was ever going to rap again,” he remembers. “You burn out on that and it’s like, ‘Now what?’ There’s so many other aspects of yourself that you’ve never explored or ever felt comfortable enough to explore.” His early work as Kossisko were trial-and-error experiments from an artist still processing where he’d been and where he wanted to go. A creative breakthrough came when he met his producer Cole MGN, a fellow Bay Area native who previously worked with Beck, Ariel Pink, Dam-Funk, and more. They began searching for the best way to bring together all of Kossisko’s disparate musical stylings into a mixture that felt true to the highs and the lows, the ego and the vulnerability, that he’d been trying to set to music. For the 25-year-old, that meant a return to rapping. “Rediscovering how I would even rap again and approach some of these subjects was a big ass hurdle,” Kossisko says. “It was therapeutic to get to that point.” The result of their work over the past two years is Low, a collection of songs that show both the depths of Kossisko’s psyche and the commanding range of his vocal abilities. More than anything, the project feels like a natural combination of everything that got him to this point, all his influences and inclinations shining through to create something completely his own. “It took awhile for me to figure out how to incorporate all the parts of myself” he says. “I don’t feel like I had to filter anything. It’s just me and where I’m at right now.” Doors: 7pm Show: 8pm 18+
Touché Amoré, vein.fm, Gleemer, Thirdface
TOUCHÉ AMORÉ SPRING TOUR 2022 w/special guests vein.fm Gleemer ThirdfaceAges 18+
SUMAC w/ Blood Spore & Zachary Watkins
SUMAC w/ Blood Spore & Zachary Watkins Tuesday March 8 2022 $18adv // $20dos 18+ — The seed of SUMAC was planted somewhere around the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011, sown upon the smoldering ashes of guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner’s former band ISIS. Turner had seen his prior project reach full fruition over the span of thirteen years, and it had reached the end of its lifecycle. ISIS had come to define an entire genre of architecturally meticulous and sonically nuanced metal, but at some point all the corners had been mapped, all the fortifications constructed. There was nothing left to build. Turner continued his musical path contributing to the deconstructed panoramic soundscapes of Mamiffer, the misanthropic crowd-baiting sludge of Old Man Gloom, the exploratory electrical whirr of House Of Low Culture, and a slew of studio projects running the gamut from slow-crawling minimalist pop (Jodis), to fiery d-beat punk (Split Cranium). In the midst of all these endeavors however, Turner tended to another venture, one that germinated slowly, its DNA already charted but its flesh still to develop. SUMAC finally began to bloom in 2012 when Turner caught a set by Vancouver’s raging crust band Baptists. Drummer Nick Yacyshyn stormed through the songs, supplementing the band’s blitzkrieg energy with dexterous idiosyncratic fills and modulating drum patterns. Turner realized the rhythmic underpinning had been found, and shortly thereafter made contact with Yacyshyn. With this duo now comprising the core of SUMAC, the band developed quickly. Their debut album sprouted from a set of carefully composed guitar demos, a string of intensive days holed up in the forests of Vashon Island for writing and rehearsals, and a quick recording session booked while the songs were still growing. Turner recruited Brian Cook (Russian Circles, These Arms Are Snakes, Botch) to fill in on bass duties, hammering out the low-end lurch and cementing the foundation to the songs. The Deal was born. With SUMAC, noting the members’ prior accomplishments isn’t an indirect excuse for The Deal’s existence; it’s a road map through the briar of their jagged labyrinthine compositions. Across the span of the album’s six songs, SUMAC takes multiple turns through unexpected territories: textural hums, math-metal, harsh noise, Caspar Brötzmann-inspired free-jazz. But all roads lead to a destination that epitomizes the members’ passionate dedication to heavy multi-deminsional music—bludgeoning riffs, tension-building structures, disorienting seismic shifts in tone, timbre, and tempo. If there was a simple way to summarize The Deal, it’s that it’s an incredibly smart and emotionally sophisticated record, which may initially appear as a single minded brutish assault. SUMAC is not suited for cursory listening.
Heart Attack Man, Covey, Arm’s Length, Blood Root
Heart Attack Man Covey Arm’s Length Blood Root Doors 6 // Show 7 – 16+
Mild Orange w/ Mae Powell & The Breathing Room
Mild Orange: The sun-kissed and smooth self-titled sophomore record from Mild Orange couldn’t have arrived at a better time, pairing perfectly with the ongoing heatwave across the U.K. Juicy and vibrant, it will have you nostalgic for days spent at the beach, a cheeky can in hand, enjoying the company of a budding summer romance. Needless to say, they’ve crafted the quintessential summertime album. The New Zealand four-piece has steadily been on the rise in the indie scene after debuting their “melting melodies” on 2018’s Foreplay, charming listeners with their tongue-in-cheek indie dream-pop sound. Consisting of childhood friends, frontman Josh Mehrtens and lead guitarist Josh Reid, with bassist Tom Kelk and drummer Jack Ferguson, the band creates energetic, summer-bummer psychedelic rock complete with compelling lyrics.
Spaceface & Reptaliens w/ Analog Dog
Spaceface ReptaliensAnalog Dog Sun Feb 20, 2022 – Doors 7pm, Show 8pm $17 adv // $19 dos 18+ Spaceface Spaceface is a self described “Retro Futurist Dream Rock” (but you can call them psychedelic-pop) band from Memphis, TN and Los Angeles, CA, active since 2012 and including members of The Flaming Lips and Pierced. Always eavesdropping on the Universe whispering its chaotic will, the groovy bunch harnesses the transcendent pulse of the spacetime continuum into catchy songs that whirl and twirl, bend and stretch, attract and propel. Their unique alloy of dream-pop, funk rock and post-disco, charged by the Sun, ultimately shines way past our collective bedtime, akin to a glow-in-the-dark Slime Science Lab kit. The psych outfit are now announcing Anemoia, a second full-length album that should please fans of Beck, Tame Impala and MGMT. The forthcoming long play is scheduled for release on January 28th, 2022 via Montreal-based Mothland. Over the course of eight years, the collective has toured all over the United States, as well as Canada, with stops at international festivals such as SXSW, Desert Daze, Canadian Music Week, Treefort Music Fest, Hangout Music Festival, God Save The Queen City and Distorsion Psych Fest. Always equipped with a state of the art, self made light-show & crowd participating antics sometimes accompanied by weirdish stage props and/or gadgets, the ever-evolving American act provides their dedicated following with thrill-inducing D.I.Y. performances that only get crazier as they perfect their experimental craft. The project’s founding members include Jake Ingalls (formaerly of The Flaming Lips), Matt Strong, Eric Martin, and Daniel Quinlan, but the lead research team recently enrolled Los Angeles-based musical mind, Katie Pierce from Pierced, with whom sonic experiments continue. Ultimately, Spaceface’s goal is to acknowledge the blurred pain that lurks in the corners of one’s vision on a day-to-day basis while providing a brief escape for anyone who needs or desires it. In light of years of thorough research (or a dream to that effect) that have confirmed music, as an artform, to be a potent medicine for both your mind and your feet, the psych rockers abide.