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Event
Deaf Wish (Australia / Sub Pop) at Spacebar (9/4)
distinct populace presents
Deaf Wish (Sub Pop)
Tuesday September 4, 2018
Spacebar
2590 N High St, Columbus OH
Doors at 8:00
$10 ADV / $12 DOS
18+ Admitted
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DEAF WISH
Theres an inherent flaw in the perennially alternating rock is back and rock is dead arguments: they are based on the idea that rock music is a logic-based choice a person consciously chooses to make. Contrary to the critics who are looking to suss out cultural trends and movements (but have never actually lifted a greasy bass cab onto a stage in order to entertain a couple dozen people), the decision to play loud, distorted, unabashed guitar-rock isnt a strategic move but a higher calling (or curse, depending on ones point of view). Some might say the pursuit of rocking out via deafening amplifiers, crusty drums and a beer-battered PA is a spiritual one, an affliction that either strikes or doesnt. Few groups today embody this sentiment like Melbournes aptly-named Deaf Wish.
Theyre more likely to ask a fellow musician what they do for their real job (for one, guitarist Jensen Tjhung works as a builder) than talk shop about publicists, ticket counts and online promotions. Theyre a grisly rock group and theyve already signed to Sub Pop, which is to say theyve already succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, so anything that comes after (performing in strange new cities, meeting like-minded souls, maybe even selling a t-shirt or two) is a bonus. And if they come to your town, you would be wise to clear your calendar: Ive started pouring a can of beer on my head every show. If that aint worth five bucks then Im quitting show biz for good, promises Tjhung.
Lithium Zion is their fifth full-length album (and second for Sub Pop following 2015s Pain), and while its a rare case that a groups fifth album is their best, particularly any band operating under a loud fast rules ethos, Deaf Wish make a strong case as the exception. Their previous albums were all recorded in makeshift studios (Is that a basement with some quilts stapled to the ceiling? Now its a studio!), which of course is a wise aesthetic choice for capturing the hazardous riffing, chemically-stained vocals and fiery rhythms conjured by a group such as this, but this step toward a slightly more professional sound only enhances their power - think of the difference between a tangled pile of firecrackers and a red stick of TNT lodged in a hornets nest. The record opens with Easy, a languid rocker in the rich Australian tradition of groups like X and The Scientists. From there its onto FFS, a moody downhill rocker sung by guitarist Sarah Hardiman (I feel like a fool / out playing pool / hitting on you) that confirms Deaf Wishs relation to fellow Sub Pop employees like feedtime and Hot Snakes. The Rat Is Back is tense and epic; Hitachi Jackhammer pays a brief and noisy tribute to Hitachis second most notable device (youd be forgiven for assuming this song is about vibrators). Lithium Zion is a veritable buffet of garage-punk energy, post-punk pathos, sardonic wit and the fearlessness that comes with Aussie rock, a natural consequence for anyone living on a continent teeming with grapefruit-sized spiders and man-eating mosquito swarms.
As has always been the case, the whole group shares vocal duties, even drummer Daniel Twomey (you know the band is slightly unhinged if theyre letting the drummer sing). Hardiman and Tjhung are as ragged and hairy as ever, chugging along as though krautrock was trying to speed past the late 70s but got caught in the sticky grasp of punk. Such is the way of Deaf Wish, a group destined to write songs that are simultaneously stupid and sublime, vulnerable and ferocious, and play them with the unbridled intensity they demand. Anyone serving a life sentence to rock will surely concur.
Matt Korvette
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LocationSpacebar (View)
2590 N. High St
Columbus, OH 43202
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 18 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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