8pm doors. $12 adv/door. 21+
The Lavender Flu
"For roundabout a decade now, The Lavender Flu has been pumping their inimitable, underground group-sound way past all manner of lesser modern muck, moving only and always as their varied inspirations prompt them. As players, Chris Gunn, Ben Spencer, and Scott Simmons remain open to where any given moment might take them, which has resulted in thrilling experiences both live and on record at every turn. Tracing The Sand By The Pool, their latest album for In The Red, finds The Flu firing at their most crisp and direct, a full-band collection of meander-free hits triumphantly captured to tape by the lads themselves. Moments will tug, others will stun, but there can be no doubt this new communiqué is their mightiest. The record unfolds from 'Within,' born out of a Kiwi brightness that is methodically guided through a series of near-crashes and sly, inward moves, spotlighting the key pillars of the band's songcraft and tailored to convert the uninitiated. Gunn's guitar work continues to fascinate and marvel, boasting too many moments of both melodic sweetness and violent shattering to detail here. Their cover of the hangmen's 'I'm Gonna Love You' capably inverts Suicide's menace to a hopeful, romantic sheen. Of critical note are a pair of guest contributions from The Spatulas' Miranda Soileau-Pratt, who lends vocals to multiple songs including the deceptive '80s dosed pop of 'Snail On The Map,' and The Tube Alloys' Shelby Jacobson, who takes lead on a cosmos-injected cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'That's Alright,' as well as 'Patron Eyes (Cocoon 2069),' the most vicious, smashingly punk moment the band has unleashed to date. From the jump to its final rest, the album is boundless and full of gifts.”
https://www.instagram.com/thelavenderflu
https://lavenderflu.bandcamp.com/album/barbarian-dust
Taste
"TASTE’s twofer totally trounces! Oli Lipton’s done the trick with Now (hardy har), Cindy, Non Plus Temps and Violent Change (+ presumably others), but he’s fully at the controls with Taste and allows personal passions to bubble and boil over. 24 tunes spread across 2 tapes [“Neon Fantasy” and “Half Off!”], deep sleaze ruminating from the deepest end of pop, the cesspool where Nikki, Marc and Syd all have their sunglasses and wine-stained floaties on. Like an issue of “What A Nice Way To Turn Seventeen” come to life.” - Mitch Cardwell
https://taste-usa.bandcamp.com/album/half-off
Replica Watch
"Bay Area band featuring members of Toads, Comets on Fire, and Icky Boyfriends. Miranda Fisher’s vocal melody on a track like “A Thousand Cuts” feels like it could’ve appeared on a ’60’s psych-leaning rock’n’roll 45, but in the hands of her bandmates, Anthony Bedard, Mitch Cardwell, and Utrillo Kushner, it’s given garage punk heft. They strike a great balance between heavy and loose.” - Evan Minsker, See/Saw