The aptly self-styled “shitpunk” bruisers Mannequin Pussy are renowned for their raw, unrestrained performances of piercing tunes that shred your eardrums like sonic cheese graters. Their reckless and unapologetically crass sound situates them alongside bands like Tacocat and Be Your Own Pet, while their outlying softer songs meander toward a more listless indie rock foundation, like something out of the late 80s Creation Records repertoire. But any lapse in the band’s “shitpunk” momentum is easily regained in a live setting, with each ensuing song, usually clocking in between 1-2 minutes, a self-contained noise-bomb of barbed wire and razor blades. Mannequin Pussy will be dishing out the raw power tonight at Hong Kong Garden with The Spirit of the Beehive, another local favorite who will round out the tonal frequency of the night with their low-end fuzz. SOTBH explore the bleak, more brooding side of noise rock and shoegaze, owing its dark but dissipated tonal signature as much to MBV as to Smashing Pumpkins. Their songs show an inclination toward heavy, dissonant riffs, a talent for complex but subtle melody, and a keen sense for song progression that sometimes never looks back or returns to that hook that captured your initial attention. All of this gives the music an indulgent but slightly withholding nature that resembles bands like Swirlies or Jessamine if you gave them a couple of bellowing Marshall stacks. Joining this stacked lineup will be Littler with their uneasy brand of slacker-punk and Tennessee space-rockers Idle Bloom. Hong Kong Garden, (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.), 7pm, $5-$7, All Ages – Bryce Woodcock
