In Town: Healing Power, Holy Youth, Looksy at Bottletree (Sept 11)
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, Bottletree will host three rising rock acts: Healing Power, Holy Youth, and Looksy. Local label Skybucket Records presents a night of garage rock, psychedelic soul, and electric blues.
Hailing from Cincinnati, Healing Power brings airy background noise, thoughtful lyrics, and even some dance-ready beats. Songs like “Dream” and “Surfing the Human Heart” aim to tug at heartstrings with sensitive lyrics and the slow echo of keys. Their resonant sound is reminiscent of Birmingham’s own Grenadines. The band manages to regularly cut through the lingering reverb with ample bass grooves and lo-fi vocals- and they’re not afraid to break out the falsetto. “Pass Away” should appeal to fans of both rock and ‘70s dance tunes, with high voices, fast beat, and choppy guitar a la MGMT.
Montevallo’s Holy Youth adds a welcome indie punk vibe to the bill. Vocals may float along, nearly fading behind the steady guitar distortion, or aim high and semi-nasal, evocative of certain ‘90s punk trends. Guitars alternate between bright clean jangles and fast-strumming crunch. The band digs from a deep bag of indie/retro sounds, including digestible dissonance and surf rock drums. After playing their first gig just over a year ago, the band has recently picked up a label with Happenin Records and released a four track EP.
No stranger to packed venues, Looksy returns from Tuscaloosa with heaps of bluesy guitar fuzz. Blues roots have a strong influence on Looksy’s music, with hints of The Black Keys, Jack White, and other garage staples evident in their playing. The band’s style is their own, though. Heavy garage guitars are balanced with distant vocals, tempered drums, and catchy songwriting. Their set is engaging and dynamic, as songs like “Common” may snap from sleazy riffs in the verse to chiming, dreamlike interludes, to heavy chords in the chorus. Looksy brings fresh tracks from their new EP, Deeper into the Woods, which will be available at the show.
The three bands return after playing in Birmingham earlier this summer at Secret Stages. Each of the groups saw large turnouts for their shows and generated plenty of buzz on the net. “We had an amazing time at Secret Stages 2013,” says Looksy’s bassist, Kyle Posten. “The crowd was wonderful and extremely inviting at both of our performances and we saw more social media action that night than ever before. We caught some great bands and met some great new people. We would love to do it again.”
The show starts around 9 p.m. This gig is brought to you by Skybucket Records.
Pictured above: Looksy