Seeking refuge from the cool December air, the crowd at Kilby Court huddled together in the warmth of the intimate garage setting. The audience trended towards the younger side, with many discovering these bands and this genre through social media. And for a few I spoke to, it was their first taste of live shoegaze.
MSPaint
MSPaint started the night out swinging with “Surveillance,” cutting down a political field recording with incredible aggression. The surging, in-your-face vocals of Deedee and a biting rhythm section startled many in the audience expecting a night of dreampop.
But as the synthesizer cuts through, it becomes immediately obvious that this band is not following punk orthodoxy, or really, any genre. The oscillating textures and warbling leads sketch out nostalgic, pixelated soundscapes. The conflict between these two worlds resolves in symphonies of overwhelm and transcendence.
The band hails from the DIY scene in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and is touring in support of their EP, “No Separation,” released earlier this May. On bass is Randy Riley, Nick Panella on synth, Quinn Mackey on drums, and Deedee on vocals. They’re returning to SLC after playing earlier in August at the DLC.
The audience was given little reprieve before going into “No Separation.” In which Kern laments the world we’ve forced upon ourselves. “Skyscrapers are pollution,” rang out under Salt Lake’s looming skyline. “Post-American” live is nothing short of seismic, with guttural basslines and uncompromising aggression.
MSPaint restates their thesis and ties loose ends together by concluding with “Angel.” They’ve wandered from hardcore to jazz fusion, and seem content ending the night in the territory of Glare and Glixen. A warm synth melody teeters on the verge of familiarity, and their optimism lies bare. “You’re good enough … I’m staying present, this is just today.”
Their meditative, future-punk style defies the idea of genre as a whole. For the next acts, the idea of genre permeates much of the discussion around them.
Glixen
Glixen took the stage wordlessly under a sea of feedbacking guitars, which they parted violently with a wall of abrasive and fuzzy guitars. Aislinn Ritchie’s vocals seem to float over melting and dizzying melodies.
The four hail from Phoenix, Arizona, but is no stranger to Salt Lake. This night is their third tour to the valley this year, with many familiar faces from their last show in July. Glixen is composed of Esteban Santana on guitar and vocals, Sonia Garcia on bass, Keire Johnson on drums, and Ritchie on vocals and guitar.
In “medicine bow,” bending, atonal guitars wail out and scream with an uncomfortably human timbre. In the undampened space, the music seems to swirl around you. Dancing between the band and the space, gentle, buried melodies seem to materialize before fading back into noise. The bass permeates the bodies of the crowd, felt as a common palpitation, rapidly and anxiously beating.
The band wears their influences on their sleeve, both old and new. In “Lick the Star,” the lush, reverberated soundscape is heavily reminiscent of Slowdive’s “Pygmalion.” But if anything, Glixen succeeds in bringing gothic elements back to the genre, in sound and aesthetic. Much thought has clearly been put into curating their style. The four were all dressed in dark, moody clothes reminiscent of the early gothic influences on the scene.
Many of shoegaze’s droning influences have been lost through the years, and it was a treat to see the drones that the band prepared and played in between tuning.
Finishing with what might be their heaviest, “shut me down,” the band gives closure and release to the tension they’ve built through the night. The calm after the storm was jarring, with most in the audience staring silently afterwards, trying to recompose themselves.
Glare
The final act of the night, Glare took the stage sharply dressed, in preppy button-ups and sweaters. Through short-form social media, it’s likely many who are unfamiliar with shoegaze would recognize their opening tracks, “Into Me” and “Blank.”
The band has found remarkable commercial success through social media. Their music is an excellent backdrop to express melancholy, and they’ve undoubtedly opened a world of new music to a generation.
Coming out of the burgeoning Texas shoegaze revival movement in 2017, the band has gone through a few changes in their lineup. After the January departure of vocalist and guitarist Christian Resendez, the band now consists of Toni Ordaz, Cesar Izaguirre and Homero Solis.
In a departure from the crushing volume and energy of the first two bands, Glare starts the night off restrained. With dueling jazzmasters, the four-piece summon a glimmering and lush landscape, with rolling hills of reverb.
But the band finds moments of catharsis, with tremolo-picked crescendos and fuzzed-out guitars approaching post-rock territory. Touring in support of their April release, “Sunset Funeral,” the band has clearly carved out their own space sonically and is putting it on display.
The drumming feels almost hypnotic, steady and ever stalwart. The vocals sit comfortably back in the mix, and the guitars wash over you with incredible width. “Void in Blue” is another crowd-pleaser, with anxious tremolo-picked guitar. The vocals feel especially raw compared to the effect-laden studio recording.
It’s difficult to imagine better executions of the shoegaze genre than through the live performances Glare and Glixen put on. And the experimental and genre-bending spirit of MSPaint blends was a welcome addition to the evening.
Glare will be back on the road in January, while Glixen and MSPaint are taking off for now. Until they return, MSPaint’s EP “No Separation,” Glixen’s single “medicine bow,” and Glare’s debut “Sunset Funeral” are available to stream now.