Tonight in Brooklyn at Don Pedro, come out to witness a very special event, curated by Sacred Bones Records, as local festering mind erasers Nice Face finally climb upon the stage to dismantle and desecrate everything pure and holy, and mainly to show the feeble naysayers how home recording projects can indeed come to life with surprisingly great results. With a whirlwind guitar attack that blinds everything in its path, Nice Face tackles immensely addicting distorto guitar scree with Devo-esque hooks and pushes out punishing pop songs writhing and screaming with power and spine-tingling brilliance. If you're in the NY area and crave the true twisted sounds of sonic adventure, clear all your plans for the evening and get right up front for this spectacle of underground punk, right as it sprouts, and don't miss the essential new Nice Face 7" released last month on Sacred Bones, which should be available at the show. Adding even more incentive to your mandatory attendance at Don Pedro tonight are the truly ominous vibrations culminated by Richmond, Virginia's Nerve City, yet another impeccably morose, yet captivating home-recording outfit that has also made the leap into performing live shows. With a brand new 10" EP entitled I Fucked Death, released this month on Kill Shaman Records, Nerve City already have the rare ability to crawl under your skin with their gloomy yet humanizing songs that echo with the cold jangly chills of death's imminent arrival, and it's never felt so good. Like the soundtrack to watching a funeral parade slowly drive by, Nerve City nail their simplistic songs with the grace of a black angel falling from the sky, yet never come off as contrived. Sharing a sound and execution similar to their friends/cohorts Medication from Connecticut, Nerve City channel an indescribable eeriness that devolves and reemerges with each stirring song, creating such an atmosphere of sonic paralysis that is nothing short of hypnotic. Look for a new Nerve City 7" EP on HoZac later this year, as well as their debut LP on Sweet Rot soon.
Rounding out the rest of this fine Spring evening, are two of NYs' breakout hit machines, the first being the elusive Gary War, followed by Crystal Stilts. With a rapid following emerging over the past few months, Gary War has turned his subdued reverberations into a formula that works on many different levels, transmitting his lofty song creations into angelic emissions that turn spellbinding squawks into truly original compositions, all of which shouldn't be missed. If you don't already own and cherish the New Raytheonport LP released last year on Kill Shaman, it should be high on your list of priorities, along with their brand new 7" on Sacred Bones as well. And if you're keen on the mid-period Jesus and Mary Chain stylings of Brooklyn's esteemed Crystal Stilts, then you should already know how much excitement they generate in a live setting. With Vivian Girls' Frankie Rose on drums, they stainlessly usher dream pop illusions into the muddled minds of the audience on a nightly basis, and accurately capture the essence of mid-80s indie pop perfection, both live and on record. Pick up their new Love is A Wave 7" on Slumberland if you don't already have it, and get ready for a solid night of great music.
Check out a live clip of Gary War right her, courtest of shawnthemanager:
