Sweet Discoveries
Despite what a few people might think, there are bands out there I have yet to discover. For one, there are bands always popping up while others end for one reason or another. I suppose you would refer to it as the ebb and flow of the music scene. In the case of this night at the Lunchbox, I returned to catch a band with no social media presence and one with that I had seen before. With them I found two local bands I had never seen. The musicians I’m describing are The Sheaves, Perplex, Soft Shoulder, and Lana del Rabies.
Up first was the first of the two bands I had never seen, the Sheaves. This group plays a steady groove of indie rock in the vein of the Strokes or the Hives. While mostly upbeat, faster tracks, they would slow it down occasionally. Although a short set, albeit not as short as the next band, the Sheaves made for an excellent first impression.
Second was the reason I showed up, the band called Perplex. I first saw them on the second night of the Save the Lunchbox shows. I had no idea we had another hardcore band this superb in Phoenix until then. They do not have a social media presence. Their energy is through the roof. Alec does a fantastic job of moving around, getting off that stage into the audience.
Expression and enthusiasm is seen through their performance. Currently the only thing limiting them is the amount of songs they have written, as the set clocked in at about 8 minutes. Regardless, Perplex is the band I want everyone to know about and go see.
Following them was the second band I had not heard prior, Soft Shoulder. They take what would be your regular rock and indie rock sound, but then mix in audio samples and distortion. The rock songs underneath are solid, bolstering the samples and sounds while giving it a uniqueness.
The samples add this rawness and sort of LoFi sound to their music. I suppose the closest thing I could call it is atmospheric alternative rock. Soft Shoulder was certainly my favorite discovery of the night.
Lana del Rabies would be the last I would watch this night, as our headliner didn’t click with me. I have seen her prior at the Trunk Space. Her music is a mix of atmospheric samples through a sound board combined with sounds generated from physical objects, such as her chain and drum.
For an additional element to the mix, she adds a vocal in short bursts to these songs. The closest I could describe it to be kind of electronic and kind of the noise genre. While not in my usual wheelhouse of music, it is cool to watch performed. Lana del Rabies was a good note to end this night on.
