A lot of emphasis has been placed recently on the emergence of noise rock/punk bands. Mostly hailing from the West Coast, acts like No Age, Mika Miko, and HEALTH have rejuvenated a long line of distortion-happy groups stemming from the shoegazers of the late 80s and early 90s. Although it seems like every other new act these days aim to destroy melodies with raucous guitar in the hopes of being labeled the “most noisy”, Long Beach natives Crystal Antlers flip it around and produce some well thought out music that is on the brink of being more psychedelic than punk.
Pretty much every noise band that I’ve witnessed always seems to put on an energetic show representative of their music taste. Crystal Antlers were no exception to this – demolishing even my substantial expectations with every track. Although the crowd was of a meager size (saying there was 20 people there was probably generous), they were still able to put on a great set that gave me more enjoyment than the riot-like atmosphere of the Black Lips just a couple of nights before. Graced with an allotment of new music from a recording session prior to their European tour, there was no doubt that the band has been enjoying playing something other than the six tracks off their EP. One of the highlights in fact was a “never performed live” song off of their about-to-be-released LP Tentacles which had a four minute guitar interlude reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine’s patented thrashing. If the rest of the album is like that, it will be one of the most talked about albums of the year.
SXSW stalwarts from last year, playing four times as many shows as days in the festival, Crystal Antlers aim to return to Austin this year, but, according to drummer Kevin Stuart, their schedule will be far less demanding. Between the massive North American and European tours, a new LP, and a secretive Live DVD in the works (Stuart was hush-hush about it, only revealing that it is “kind of like a documentary, but more like art”), 2009 seems to be a breakthrough year for Crystal Antlers. And if this is a just world, it will be.
I’ll post some videos from the show once I get them uploaded on youtube. For now, you can check out my photos from the concert!
Tags: 59:1, Concert Photos, Concert Videos, Crystal Antlers, Live