(Flyer via Mutual Crush)
Mutual Crush VII: Mzungu, Drunken Sufis, Amar
Wednesday November 11, 8 pm at Elvis Guesthouse: free
Ongoing live music series Mutual Crush returns with a show that “focuses heavily on noise/ambient music,” and a reminder that such sounds tend to “evoke a meditative reaction in the listener”– lord knows that’s just the ticket to sliding back into some semblance of normalcy after all this election garbage crap.
Justin Talbott’s laying it all out there with his glitchy electronic project Mzungu, which means, essentially, “whitey” in Swahili. It’s an appropriate title given Talbott’s intermittent, almost creeping references to vaguely “African” drumbeats, in the way that you’d hear them quietly drifting in from the outside, while standing inside a throwback arcade with pinball machines, sci-fi loops, and modular synthesizers competing for sonic prominence.
Drunken Sufis service the opposite end of your music-listening pleasure receptors with their experimental, mathy “rule free” sounds that infuse the anarchy of Lightning Bolt with a slower-paced thoughtfulness. It’s either that or having to hear the Sufis’ drawn-out, fuck-all ways will feel a bit like a knife slowly dragging across your goose-pimpled flesh– you know, soothing, but in an I’m-about-to-get-shanked kind of way. Amar will prep you for such high-anxiety but strangely joyful fuckery with mind-numbing drone.
(Image via the Julie Ruin)
The Julie Ruin, Harsh Crowd
Thursday November 10, 7 pm at Irving Plaza: $20
Now that we’ve gotten used to the idea that Kathleen Hanna’s back at it with the same explosive stage energy she’s always had, we can chill out on all the hand-clapping and go back to stiffly nodding and casually elbowing too-tall men outta the way, as one does at most rock shows. This week, get ready to restore your cool aloofness and matter-of-fact, yes-duh support of grrrl power, as The Julie Ruin pulls into Irving Plaza to share songs of their appropriately titled album, Hit Reset, the band’s first proper record since 2013.
Hanna and crew will be joined by Harsh Crowd, a popped-up, all-female-powered garage punk outfit that have been doing their thing since they were just 14. If anyone can make a lasting impression opening for Kathleen Hanna, the “indie rock veterans” of Harsh Crowd are it.
(Flyer by Meg of Slow Ref, via Meat Shop)
Patio, Crumb, Soccer Mommy, Slow Ref
Friday November 11, 9:30 pm at the Meat Shop: $5
This one’s a bit of a hike from our sphere of influence, but it’s nice to check out other scenes, and given the current state of Brooklyn DIY (i.e. RIP?), the Bronx might be looking not so far after all.
If you’re in need of a night filled with drifty, ethereal rock to soothe your war-weary soul, the ride will be so totally worth it.
Patio plays a sort of soft-lensed indie rock that might come off as rather delicate and dreary at first, but there’s something sharply poetic at the center of their heartfelt, sometimes wrenching songs.
Crumb is a fitting stage partner, what with their smooth-listening, jazz-inflected, soul-inspired indie rock.
(Image via Alphaville)
Alphaville’s Two-Year Anniversary Show: Future Punx, Gabriella Cohen, Squad Car, Navy Gangs, and more TBA
Saturday November 12, 8 pm at Alphaville: free
You don’t have to be a regular to come chill with the fam at Alphaville this Saturday as the venue celebrates its two-year anniversary. All the fun-time Brooklyn favorites will be there to pour one out for their homies who’ve worked real hard over the last couple of years to restore vitality to the local punk scene by booking consistently excellent shows with a preference for whippersnappers and local bands. In other words, celebrations are in order, so you can bet that the evening’s festivities are guaranteed to be at least a little wild.
You can’t go wrong with a lineup as varied and high-quality as this one. Future Punx churn out consistently excellent post-millennial post-punk weirdness. You might better know rock n’ roll power betch Gabriella Cohen as the leading lady of The Furrs out of Australia, but recently she’s branched out her own for dreamier drifts á la Angel Olsen. Squad Car blends the fast fury of noise rock with the psych-attuned instrumentation of contemporary garage, and guess what? It’s pretty damn nasty.
As you can see, the current lineup rules as is, but we’re confident some other fun ones are gonna jump on the bill last minute.