Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Free entry! Seattle’s progenitors of “gunk pop” take the hallmarks of the classic Pacific Northwest sound – interlocking guitars, eccentric vocals, confrontational detachment - and grind it into a subtly unconventional patty of wonky rhythms and melodic gravel. Big discovery FFO: Sleater-Kinney, Hole, Ekko Astral, dissociating."
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A gig held at The Lanes on Wednesday 21st May. The event starts at 20:00.
FIRST 150 TICKETS FREE!
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BLACK ENDS • www.instagram.com/black.ends
Black Ends’ self-described gunk-pop is about as sweet as that wad of asphalt-crusted bubblegum you found stuck on the bottom of your favourite boots. Much like the legendary grunge bands that influenced the Seattle trio, Black Ends is artfully adept at smothering catchy pop and rock structures with toxic levels of grime; but please don’t call them “post-grunge”, the term used to describe the major label wave of flannel-clad bands trying to capitalise on grunge’s aesthetic. If you must, “post-post-grunge” may be more apt at capturing Black Ends’ reaction against this type of commercialisation.
Further cementing this connection to the city’s rich musical history, the band’s sophomore EP of surrealist grunge, Stay Evil, was mixed and mastered by influential Seattle engineer Jack Endino (Nirvana’s Bleach, Mudhoney), whose thoughtful treatments emphasise the dynamics and clarity of the basement-recorded tracks without smoothing over their raw energy. Bandleader Nicolle Swims takes charge with commanding guitar playing, channeling catchy riffs and bluesy sensibilities through warped effects, scuzzy tones, and math rock joltiness. Beloved radio station KEXP, who describes the release as “a four-song foray into dark alternative rock, art-folk, and the contours of our minds when we are faced with treachery,” exclaims that “Swims’ instantly recognisable voice cuts through the din and grabs you, holding you into place while they sing their words -- rubbed raw, cut deep, sometimes wilfully obfuscated -- in your face.” The recurring lyrical theme of social alienation is enhanced by Swims’ unique and cryptic vocal delivery that embraces their outsider status.
LAWI ANYWAR • www.instagram.com/lawianywar
Born to a Ugandan father and White British mother, Lawi Anywar is a composite of tastes and cultures. Sonically influenced as much by Grace Jones as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as much Radiohead as Raphael Saadiq and as much Bad Brains as Black Uhuru, Anywar's music explores the common grounds between Funk, Shoegaze and Post Rock.
FFO: American Football, TV On The Radio, The Mars Volta, Bad Brains
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18+ event.
Presented by Gravy Train & BLG.
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Gravy Train events • www.gravytrainbristol.co.uk
The Lanes events • www.thelanesbristol.com
Entry requirements: 18+
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
BLACK ENDS • www.instagram.com/black.ends
Black Ends’ self-described gunk-pop is about as sweet as that wad of asphalt-crusted bubblegum you found stuck on the bottom of your favourite boots. Much like the legendary grunge bands that influenced the Seattle trio, Black Ends is artfully adept at smothering catchy pop and rock structures with toxic levels of grime; but please don’t call them “post-grunge”, the term used to describe the major label wave of flannel-clad bands trying to capitalise on grunge’s aesthetic. If you must, “post-post-grunge” may be more apt at capturing Black Ends’ reaction against this type of commercialisation.
Further cementing this connection to the city’s rich musical history, the band’s sophomore EP of surrealist grunge, Stay Evil, was mixed and mastered by influential Seattle engineer Jack Endino (Nirvana’s Bleach, Mudhoney), whose thoughtful treatments emphasise the dynamics and clarity of the basement-recorded tracks without smoothing over their raw energy. Bandleader Nicolle Swims takes charge with commanding guitar playing, channeling catchy riffs and bluesy sensibilities through warped effects, scuzzy tones, and math rock joltiness. Beloved radio station KEXP, who describes the release as “a four-song foray into dark alternative rock, art-folk, and the contours of our minds when we are faced with treachery,” exclaims that “Swims’ instantly recognisable voice cuts through the din and grabs you, holding you into place while they sing their words -- rubbed raw, cut deep, sometimes wilfully obfuscated -- in your face.” The recurring lyrical theme of social alienation is enhanced by Swims’ unique and cryptic vocal delivery that embraces their outsider status.
LAWI ANYWAR • www.instagram.com/lawianywar
Born to a Ugandan father and White British mother, Lawi Anywar is a composite of tastes and cultures. Sonically influenced as much by Grace Jones as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as much Radiohead as Raphael Saadiq and as much Bad Brains as Black Uhuru, Anywar's music explores the common grounds between Funk, Shoegaze and Post Rock.
FFO: American Football, TV On The Radio, The Mars Volta, Bad Brains
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
18+ event.
Presented by Gravy Train & BLG.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Gravy Train events • www.gravytrainbristol.co.uk
The Lanes events • www.thelanesbristol.com
Entry requirements: 18+
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