(Pictured above: Isaiah Radke of Radkey)

recordBar was home to a diverse showcase of local musicians on Saturday night, handpicked by Sonic Spectrum host Robert Moore. Drop A Grand, The Quivers, Radkey, and Soft Reeds played to an interested and expectant crowd.

The night started out with Drop a Grand.  This was my first experience of them, and indeed an experience they are. Electronically playful costumed noise punk like AC/DC, the Sex Pistols, and Elton John getting lost in the keyboard room at Guitar Center. The songs were short, loud, and brash, often sounding like the musical version of a stoned teenager fumbling at the top button of his high school sweetheart’s skinny jeans.  The wolf playing bass (Steven Tulipana) brought the technological side, often howling into the microphone through various processed effects. Overall, fun and interesting.

Kansas City’s Motown napalm darlings, The Quivers followed Drop A Grand. A little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, a little bit Carrie Fisher with a flamethrower, their groovy tunes really got Ricardo dancing. Their set was quick, no nonsense, and a hell of a lot of fun. The well-dressed band jumped from song to song, never letting the sweaty crowd get too much of a break from the groovy vintage tunes. The set really picked up steam in the second half when vocalist Terra Peal let her voice play in the sandbox a little. Her vocals carry a combination of pure power and snarl that contrasts wonderfully with the organ and guitars beneath.

Next up were the young men from St Joseph, Radkey. Sporting clean cheeks, dreadlocks, and one fantastically groomed Billy Dee Williams moustache, they brought a simplistic and raw energy to the night.  Their straightforward rock n roll borders on radio metal at times and is the perfect music to nervously bite your fingernails to. It comes across as a young man’s Van Halen/Misfits mash up, minus the chainsaw guitar solos and the really, really short bodybuilder singer obviously compensating for something. They were tight, strong, and kept the crowd (who mostly seemed to be there for them) cheering for more.

Finishing out the evening were the hipster prophets themselves, Soft Reeds. Easily the most seasoned and talkative group of the night, Soft Reeds brought the show home with their energetic blend of dance rock. Despite their best effort to emulate The Killers or Franz Ferdinand, the Soft Reeds pop more when they allow themselves wade into the Talking Heads side of the pool. That said, they showed a true mastery over the cliffhanger art of dynamically building songs up to almost the brink of bursting only to stop them suddenly. It is certainly good music to not think too hard about and just sway side to side.

–-Zach Hodson

Photos © Todd Zimmer, 2012. Please do not use without permission.

Photo Source: Red Liquid

Red Liquid are set to play alongside Gibraltar, Kingdom of the Holy Sun, and Black Nite Crash this upcoming Saturday at Lo-Fi Performance Gallery.

Formed in 2009, the band released their debut EP I Wanna Be Yr Victim last year. They meddle with haunting and industrial-like sounds frequently, like at the start of the eponymous song "I Wanna Be Yr Victim." The tune – which begins with synths that recall rippling tides, engines and sirens from some doppelganger world – suddenly morphs into a relentless hybrid of punk and post-hardcore.

Led by vocalist and guitarist Lee Cizek, Red Liquid sinks deeply into sonic chambers of repetitive churning riffs that reverberate off into space with echoing synth waves; this interstellar effect can be heard prominently on "Neptune Massive." The vocals on this song especially display similarities to Nick Cave and Michael Gira of Swans. The track lulls you in with its mantra-like effect before tearing into a heavy, psychedelic rock section halfway through.

Their nightmarish, futuristic plunge into music pulls from post-punk, psychedelia, electronic vibes, and more. Visit Lo-Fi this Saturday, July 7th for the show – it costs $7 and will begin at 9pm. Until then, check out "Neptune Massive" below and give their bandcamp a visit to hear the whole EP. Word is Red Liquid is releasing a new cassette very soon too.

– Cameron LaFlam

Rather than scratching their heads like every pop culture scholar over a question with no shortage of answers – i.e ‘what the ‘ell is punk anyway?’- Brooklyn’s Sleepies made its past their playground, juggling anything from oi to pop-punk influences to craft fast and fun music. Godmode Records having recently released a preview of the band’s next LP ‘Weird Wild World’, we can all get a taste of the album to come! First impressions? Arrogant. Deliciously arrogant. Judging by the tone of ‘Seriously’, teasing game of distortions served with attitude and the stability of a tantrum, ‘WWW’ should be one more treat for those who like their punk with a middle finger up. Welcomed with a party at Dead Herring on the 17th of August, the LP will be released a few days later on the 21st,.Before that, catch them by the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk on July 21st!

The precise, direct stabs of singer/songwriter Laura Stevenson are the telltale marks of a true assassin lyricist. Hers are words that carve a fine point through anyone caught listening to the singer/songwriter’s haunting vocals, and rich instrumentation provided by tight rock outfit The Cans.

The Long Island-based chanteuse dives into her material with an enormous weight; whether hocketing through ‘Baby Bones’ (from the band’s second full length ‘A Record’) or challenging a violin for dominance in the comforting title track ‘Holy Ghost,’ from her debut EP. Stevenson’s spark and energy doses the band’s music with an epic quality perfectly suited for such personal tomes.

Her new full-length record ‘Sit Resist’ is no different. First single (streaming below) ‘Master of Art,’ paints a convincing method for bottling time spent between lovers with all the passion and denial necessary to make a statement like that actually work. This is what makes Stevenson such an enduring presence… and also what makes her an assassin.

Catch Laura Stevenson and The Cans when they play Bowery Ballroom on July 21. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)