That Was The Show That Was: Eternal Summers | Great Scott | 2 June

[PHOTO: Dillon Riley] Eternal Summers boast a bright, airy sound that's familiar yet distinct, but they are particularly beguiling live, so the fact that the Roanoke, VA-based dream-pop trio played an expanded set last week at Boston's Great Scott rock club was a welcome surprise. The set -- actually more like a set-and-a-break-and-then-a-half-set -- drew heavily from the band's recently issued collection Gold And Stone, the fourth Eternal Summers platter issued by indie mainstay Kanine Records (which has also brought you now-sounds from luminaries Grooms, Pinact and Young Prisms, among others). The Great Scott gig served as a sort-of release party for the new record, as it was issued that very day, and unsurprisingly the evening's program leaned heavily on the crystalline yet urgent material from Gold And Stone.

Eternal Summers' shimmery, reverbed songs hint at some sort of sublimated, inner darkness, but the band seems to uncoil live, and the effect on the already-affecting music is revelatory, as emotions captured in the songwriting are pushed to the fore. Fronter and guitarist Nicole Yun wields a truly underrated voice, one comfortable corralling songs in with lilting coos, but also capable of commanding shouts, too. The trio's sound is led by Ms. Yun's big, clean guitars, but its secret weapon may very well be the adventurous work of drummer Daniel Cundiff. With a playing style that struck us as akin to a slightly reeled-in Jayson Gerycz from Cloud Nothings, Mr. Cundiff often snuck quick floor tom hits between his snare beats. The band routinely bested the recorded renditions of its songs on stage, especially in the case of many of the still-fresh new numbers.

Kanine released Gold And Stone June 2, and one may acquire the collection as an LP, CD or digital download directly from the label right here. Stream the romantic rocker "Together Or Alone" at Soundcloud right here, and the title track to Gold And Stone via the embed below; a video for "Gold And Stone" was unveiled last week and can be seen here. Eternal Summers' current tour wraps June 19 in Harrisonburg, VA, but the band is on the road for much of the (we suppose not-quite-eternal) summer, and all currently scheduled live engagements are listed at the threesome's web dojo right here. -- Dillon Riley

Eternal Summers: Bandcamp | Facebook | Interzizzles

That Was The Show That Was: Grooms with Hooray For Earth | ICA, Boston | 22 Aug.

[PHOTOS: Quinn Banford, special to Clicky Clicky] In a perfect world, Brooklyn-based dream-pop concern Grooms would be a band on a massive upswing. We hate to classify them as "underrated," as we wish continued success for them and every other act we ramble on about on the Clicky Clicky-sphere, but the Azerrad-approved touring threesome's colossal 2013 LP Infinity Caller failed to breech the overground despite critical acclaim and even a nod from Speedy Ortiz's Sadie Dupuis. New York synth-rockers Hooray For Earth had the band join them on tour for close to a month this summer, including a penultimate stop in Boston Friday night for the similarly penultimate evening of the Institute for Contemporary Arts' current Wavelengths series, which has also featured, among others, the legendary Dean Wareham and notable electronic artist André Obin.

When we last checked in on Grooms in October, they were headlining a tour supporting the aforementioned Infinity Caller. At the ICA Friday the act revisited a few tunes from the collection, including a particularly vital take on "Lion Name," but focused primarily on delivering new tunes from an as-yet-unreleased new record that has been teased in various social media posts. These newer tunes retain and build upon the things we've come to love most about Grooms: the precise, almost prose-like lyrics of fronter Travis Johnson, inventive and atmospheric guitar interplay and a steady rhythmic approach, which taken together plays at times like a smart, modern take on the sound proffered by Kitchens Of Distinction decades ago. Tunes we know and love, like the Infinity Caller highlight "Very Very Librarian," mixed well with Grooms' newer compositions and made for a more than satisfying opening set. Purchase Infinity Caller from Western Digital right here; two tracks from the record are embedded below.

Hooray For Earth's headlining set affirmed the quartet's status as a big-time and pop-friendly indie rock band. While sound problems hampered momentum early on, the band found its footing in plenty of time to deliver a strong performance, and even had a cool visual display going on the ICA's roof. Tracks from the act's recently released Racy, which minimizes the dancier outliers of its debut in favor of a more guitar-charged attack, rang out into the summer night and elicited the strongest reactions from the crowd. Racy was issued by Dovecote Records July 29, and it can be purchased right here; stream the bouncy single "Keys" via the Soundcloud embed below. The show, held out of doors at the ICA, was an all-around delight, and we can only hope the ICA brings Wavlengths back in 2015. -- Dillon Riley

Grooms: Bandcamp | Facebook | Internerds





Previous Coverage:
That Was The Show That Was | Grooms with Young Adults, Chandeliers, Vegans | Great Scott | 9 Oct.
Young Adults, Grooms, Ovlov and Soccer Mom | Great Scott, Boston | 11 July

That Was The Show That Was | Grooms with Young Adults, Chandeliers, Vegans | Great Scott | 9 Oct.

[PHOTOS: Quinn Banford, special to Clicky Clicky] It's fun to witness the give-and-take between the two preposterously fertile music scenes of Allston and Brooklyn. Grooms, a notable dream-pop trio based in the latter, have played the former a fair amount on bills spangled with local luminaries. Wednesday night at the venerable Great Scott was no different. There the Brooklyn combo bowed a national tour intended to promote its shit-hot new record, Infinity Caller, slotted third in a bill top-lined by Boston-bred heavyweights Young Adults. The mysteriously small crowd that materialized early were treated to opening sets from Vegans and Chandeliers.

Grooms wasted no time hitting their stride, and pumping out should-be hit after should-be hit at a remarkable rate. Fronter Travis Johnson joked from the stage about ingesting great speed just prior to the quartet's set, and, yes, Heisenberg, it was blue. Too soon, indeed. Grooms opened with "Lion Name," much to our delight, and thereafter continued to bring the proverbial and literal noise. Perhaps they were feeding off the energy they knew Young Adults would bring later, or maybe they were extra stoked to be launching the tour, but whatever the reason these dudes really rocked the fuck out. On record Grooms exhibits substantial restraint, but on Wednesday its music was chaotic, explosive and enshrouded in distortion. All of this made the live presentation of new album-highlight "I Think Were Alone Now" even more awesome.

We missed openers Vegans, but did arrive in time for Chandeliers, whose too-brief time on stage was light on banter and heavy on electrifying, math-y rock. Maybe a little *too* heavy at first, as fronter Dan Coulson ripped straight through a string during the trio's very first number. Chris Villon from YA was quick to supply a loaner, however, and the rest of the set went off with nary a hitch. An interesting aspect of Chandeliers' live sound is the treatment that clothes Mr. Coulson's vocals. The sound is distorted and makes his voice sound as if it is coming through a payphone, adding a singular dimension to the oft-busy arrangements.

Young Adults, as is their usual practice, decisively ended the evening with an eardrum-eviscerating performance. It's no secret, of course, that they are very loud -- like "ears ringing for the next business week" loud. But fans know the threesome's shuddering racket isn't simply noise for noise's sake, however: anthemic jams reside breathe from beneath the sludge. The band played tunes from its Born In '91 EP as well as plenty of old jams. Despite battling some serious sniffles, the aforementioned Mr. Villon and his merry men were reliably intense, and blared punk-gaze stompers well into early Thursday morning. -- Dillon Riley

Young Adults, Grooms, Ovlov and Soccer Mom | Great Scott, Boston | 11 July



We snuck a sideways reference to Ovlov into our Speedy Ortiz review last week -- despite the trio not hailing from Massachusetts, which was sort of the point we were making -- as sort of a last-ditch effort to make a timely mention of the rising Connecticut grunge-pop goliath. The act released its full-length debut Am a week ago, but our plate had been too full to really give the LP the attention it deserved. By Saturday, however, Ovlov had been added to this Thursday's upcoming white-hot Grooms/Young Adults/Soccer Mom bill, and voila! A new news peg was born. Ovlov itself is by no means new, as its Bandcamp bastion offers a couple EPs and a single, the earliest of which arrived in 2009. However, Am has significantly raised the profile of the act, presently a threesome of brothers Steve, Theo and Jon Hartlett (as the youngest of three boys, this writer can only imagine the fisticuffs that occur in the van). Theirs is a refreshing and thrilling collection of songs, one surprisingly nimble given the degree of sludge tossed up across the stereo field. It's the kind of record that we expect you'll see compared a fair amount to Dinosaur Jr.'s classic You're Living All Over Me, and we're willing to submit that, goddamn, that's not too far off. It is big melodies and a precise rhythm section that move Am relentlessly forward, and we think that once you latch on to the Soundcloud stream embedded below, you'll find it hard to stop listening. We direct your attention to the opener "Grapes," as it touts the tunefulness of Swedish pop geniuses The Wannadies and the raw power of Glaswegian noise-pop titans Projekt A-ko. Another of the many highlights of Am is the slack strummer "Where's My Dini?", which is one of several tracks that features vocals from Speedy Ortiz fronter Sadie Dupuis. Exploding In Sound Records released Am July 2, and it is on offer as a limited edition 12" vinyl LP (purportedly pressed to "piss yellow" and "swamp green" media) and digital download. You can purchase one or both via Ovlov's aforementioned Bandcamp page right here.

Of course, Thursday night is about much more than just Ovlov, as Clicky Clicky stalwarts Young Adults and Soccer Mom are also slated to perform, and the evening is top-lined by the New York band every band seems to want to be playing with these days, Grooms. All of the above happens at Great Scott in Allston, and as of this writing tickets are still available. While we were at the beach last month Young Adults issued a pretty sweet video for its tune "Spectre" that is well worth your eyeballs, check that out right here. As for Soccer Mom, the band is allegedly in the midst of recording for a future release, and we're hopeful that there may even be new music to hear from the band before the year is out (a man can dream, can't he?). Anyway, go to Great Scott Thursday, make that your way of taking a stand against The Man, at least this week. It's the big, big show in Boston Thursday, and all the dizzles are at this Facebook event pizzle.