On The Scene: Mao Livehouse 23-08-2013

Oh Split Works – really did try to avoid you guys this time round. But given your track record so far this year, there was no question this was gonna be a electrifying show. And even as we poked fun at Japandroids adolescence ‘let’s capture the night cause tomorrow is the last day of our lives’ sound as they began their set, when I finally managed to crawl back into Mao Livehouse, I immediately got sucked into the Vancouver duo’s high octane anthem-filled garage rock.

Shit – might as well capture the night…cause tomorrow is the last day of our lives (pretty sure that’s NOT in one of their songs). Check below for more from the indie sensations as well as power punk trio SUBS and indie outfit Yantiao. Do it.

Gotta give credit where it’s due – there aren’t too many bands like Yantiao in China, yet alone Beijing. The marriage of post punk and post rock has never tasted some bitter and sweet at once.

That might be pigeonholing them a bit too simply, but it’s this juxtaposition that fascinates me and keeps my ears tuned in. Between Shen’s timid wails, the instrumental slow-downs, and finally when it all comes crashing down into some form of hardcore overdrive, it’s remarkable how well it all comes together.

As ambitious and crammed as their sound is, Yantiao are onto something interesting that’s definitely gonna warrant further listening.

SUBS are without a doubt one of the gut-busting freakishly fun bands in town. Party punk, power punk – defining their sound is almost meaningless when they’re delivering such dance-craving numbers like this.

There’s a carnival-esque nature to their music nowadays that’s devilishly entertaining as rockabilly, electro, new wave, doo wop and a slew of influences are thrown through the blender at the helm of ringmaster Kang Mao.

Once you wind them up, there’s no stopping them – and with the amount of new material that’s been circulating the past few months, I can only assume that we’ll see a new record by years’ end.

Japandroids are a power-house of a band, all the more so considering it’s just the two of them up on stage. Loud, abrasive, cathartic – it’s a garage rock sugar high that’s hard to shake off.

And though their sound does have its limitations, eventually bleeding into one another till you can’t tell one anthem-filled hit from the other, there’s no denying the punch they pack as a whole.

Heck, it’s just about impossible not to get sucked up in all the energy. Drunken youthful carefree nights back at high school never felt so close. Oh, nostalgia, you bitch.

 

More videos from Yantiao, Subs, and Japandroids. BAM!