From using an ebow on the pedal steel, to lead singer Brad Barr’s string bow technique on his acoustic guitar, the Barr Brothers constantly experiment with obscure ways to achieve different sounds live.
The first time I saw Sophie Allison and co. live last February opening for Phoebe Bridgers at the Great Scott, I knew there was something different about the tunes, skating the line between something grungy and something folky.
What we find so captivating about Julian Lage’s style is that he is able to bring together the fast, dissonant, chaotic sense of jazz improv into very simple, more alternative sounding chord progressions during pieces like “General Thunder” and “Atlantic Limited.”
Hovvdy is not just your average alternative, distorted chords, and drum machines rock band. They write music that will last because it’s emotional, secretly complex, and entirely relatable.
At the end of their epic 6-week tour supporting Floating Features, I chatted with lead singer Shana Cleveland about the band’s influences, the images that inspired the record, and being on the road.
Half Waif has a way of capturing the sensations that become hard to put words to in the face of loss. And you can tell when she sings she’s reliving it, the mark of a true artist.
The house was already packed when I got there early for the LA-based rock band, The Wild Reeds, who are on tour right now opening for Wild Child, and who are known for songs like “Silly Things” and “Crazy Bird.”
