Last Friday’s sub-par weather failed to put a damper on Slutever’s highly anticipated homecoming. Reeling from the tail end of their “Slutever Do America Tour,” Rachel Gagliardi and Nicole Snyder’s return was well worth the wait. The first decibels of the evening to be heard were by resident pop-punks The Sniffles. Nostalgic but sincere, The Sniffle’s self-defined “boredom core” hit the crowd with a pensive energy, generated by riffs and purposely noisy drums. Cuts off their latest I Used to Be Cool Now I’m Cool EP, like “Waste of Time” and “Get Down” garnished easy applause from show-goers. With high voltage shredding and clever quips The Sniffles’ set was a reminder of basement shows, summer, and the energy of post-teenaged bliss.
Bedroom Problems, a new-ish local outfit, kicked off their set with “At Least Counting is Easy,” a reserved but angsty anthem about the downsides of singledom. The quasi punk-esque outro brings to mind a hybrid of Kleenex and Yellow Fever. Lead vocalist Maria Sciarrino’s lyrics are emotively in-tune with the fundamental sentiments of mumblecore features while her band’s instrumentation falls within the forever present parentheses of moody lo-fi. Onstage, Sciarrino’s diction feels confessional, sincere. Sharing details about her record collection, new dog, new job, and dreams, Sciarrino and her bandmates’ onstage presence is as genuine as their songs. Perhaps Bedroom Problems is a hopeful foreshadowing of an uprising of more femme-fronted lo-fi in the City of Brotherly Love.
Slutever, like always, took the stage with ownership. With Gagliardi sporting a Harley-Davidson tee and Snyder in cutoffs, the twosome shook show-goers to life with the start of “Smells Like Milk.” Coupled with Snyder’s crashing cymbals and pulse like percussion, Gagliardi’s bratty vocals couldn’t have been more perfect. Taking a break to alert their fans that she puked right before their set, Gagliardi confessed to be “really nervous.” Whether a serious confession or in jest, Gagliardi’s fiery presence alongside Snyder’s tight precision, proved the benefits of seven weeks on the road. Slutever’s noise punk continues to improve, rendering their fuzzed-out charm undeniably infectious. “I Can Dream the Rest Away,” felt patriotic, an anthem to the cynically heartbroken or the frustrated and annoyed. The wave of riffs and unrelenting crash of drums fit the mood of the song’s lyrical genius, voiced by Gagliardi. After tracks like “Teen Mom” and the bittersweet chants of “So Prone,” Slutever‘s set ended with “Sun Hot” and applause, confirming that Philly’s shit-fi sweethearts continue to warm the hearts of their fans not only abroad, but most importantly here at home.