deafheaven-20

Deafheaven, No Joy, Indian Handcrafts played MHOW (pics); Creepers announce debut album (hear a song)

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Creepers – Stuck (MP3)

Deafheaven @ Music Hall of Williamsburg – 9/14/14
Deafheaven
Deafheaven

After playing Hudson, NY’s Basilica Sound Scape on Saturday (9/13), Deafheaven kicked off their tour with No Joy and Indian Handcrafts at NYC’s Music Hall of Williamsburg last night (9/14). We caught the MHOW show and pictures are in this post.

Unfortunately, I showed up a little late and only caught the last minute or so of Indian Handcrafts, but they sounded good and loud so I imagine their set fit the bill well. No Joy followed and were also loud (though maybe not quite as much as their Brooklyn Night Bazaar show last month) and delivered a wall of sound perfect for zoning out to. With a driving bassist and a drummer always locked into a groove, things could be kept grounded a bit as both guitar players went off into other worlds of distortion and reverb. Good set.

Then Deafheaven finally came on, playing a lot of Sunbather and their new song “From the Kettle Onto the Coil.” Vocalist George Clarke didn’t go out of character once, with his usual menacing faces, extending his arms out to the crowd, miming a conductor during the slow parts, and of course unleashing his piercing scream. George is a sight to see, but he’s matched by the power of the rest of the band. Their blend of black metal, post rock and shoegaze is a real force. It’s towering, epic stuff that can go from brutal to beautiful in seconds and is often both at the same time. And while George’s performance is dark and full of mystique, the rest of the band are more down to earth, just coming off like a great rock band. They’re super tight, powerful, and their attack and George’s theatricality balance each other out well.

The tour picks back up in Connecticut on Tuesday (9/16), but before that No Joy wil squeeze in a headlining NYC show at Mercury Lounge tonight (9/15) with Tonstartssbandht. Tickets are still available.

In related news, Creepers, the band including Deafheaven members Shiv Mehra and Daniel Tracy, are releasing their debut LP, Lush, on October 28 via George Clark’s All Black Recording Company. It follows last year’s self titled EP. The album was recorded and mixed by Andrew Oswald (Ash Borer, Weatherbox), and Jack Shirley (who produced Sunbather) mastered it. You can download the first single, “Stuck”, above (via Pitchfork).

LP artwork, tracklist, and more pictures from MHOW, below…

Indian Handcrafts

Indian Handcrafts

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No Joy

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Deafheaven

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Creepers – Lush
Creepers

Lush Tracklist:
01 Stuck
02 Vanishing
03 Disorder
04 Lush
05 All in Black
06 Unknown
07 Take You There