Our live music picks for this weekend, picked by Will of LiveMusicChina.com
A killer one-two punch combo over at Yuyintown tonight with two explosive acts from Beijing and Shanghai joining forces. From the capital, Xiaowang’s tipsy-turvy swirl of kawaiicore, punk, J-rock, pop, and then some - is raw, bittersweet, and ferocious - mixing vulnerability, seething rage, and bubbly exuberance with potent results. Strike down with vengeance, along with them are local favorites Moya, whose barbed, ludicrous, and frenzied brand of punk rock is electric.
Wispy indie pop at its finest - tonight’s Summer Shape showcase is one for all the romantics out there. On the menu, you’ve got The Cheers Cheers, the Zhejiang band headed by Wang Keguan that has achieved cult-like status in China’s indie pop scene, for both their C86-inspired sound and their minute output. They’ll join the Shenzhen-raised European-based band whose dreamy shoegaze sound has amassed legions of fans both here and abroad from their light-footed, emotionally ripe Galaxie 500-evoking sound. Filling out the lineup are emerging twee pop outfit Yoko the Painter, who hail from Guangzhou, and are fresh off their debut LP.
‘Gooey groovy fusion magic’ from Melbourne - MILDLIFE crafts sun-baked psychedelic jazz that’s tailor-made to lift your spirits to the astral plane and get these feet moving. Recalling acts like Pink Floyd and Tame Impala to Kool & the Gang - with a much more delicate ethereal touch - the band is equal parts virtuoso musicianship and atmospheric transcendence, capturing one euphoric high after another. The band is in town courtesy of New Noise - whose track record is spotless - so trust they have found another gem for you to indulge in.
Another fine team-up over at Cream Club in Pudong - featuring two of the indie scene’s most underrated acts. Out of Nantong, BlueLiquid seamlessly veers from post punk aplomb to 90s alt rock swagger - with the quartet having a kinetic affinity for finding that sweet spot between noise and pop. They join Shanghai’s own Disordered Clay, whose rustic mix of angsty post punk, Pink Floyd-esque prog rock, and tender indie rock resonates with scrappy earnest appeal. An evening of tight, lean, and full-blooded rock and roll.
Seminal American death metal band formed in 1989 by John McEntee and Paul Ledney - Incantation are considered pioneers of the New York City death metal scene and pillars of the "caveman" death-doom sound. Renowned for their punishing riffs, down-tuned doom passages, and occult themes, they are still going ‘hard as fxxx’ after thirty-plus years. They swing through Cave Art Venue with help from Indonesian brutal death-metal act Exhumation, who have been sharpening their riffs since forming in 2008, ‘reimagining vintage ’80s deathrash with songwriting instincts that build worlds instead of just setting them ablaze’.
Full-blooded psychedelia with an oriental flavor that keeps the vibes vigorous and audacious in their pursuit of nirvana, Khunathi, who cut their teeth in Shanghai before scattering about the region, are a force to be reckoned with. Their debut, Misty Mountain Pagoda, released with avant-garde mainstay WV Sorcerer Productions, is one of my favorite releases last year - and it looks like the band is giving it a proper introduction. With the perfect balance of soothing rustic bliss and propulsive spiraling grooves, there aren’t many bands that can make their guitars sing like these guys - whether ‘shimmering with the metallic brilliance of ceremonial horns, and threading delicately with the bass to weave intricate bead curtains’. Lean, injected with a crisp psych blues sound, and cut with precision and heft the band gives a special showcase at Cream Club with support from solo experimental musician XUDEE.
Cedar Land - the latest joint to crash land at C-Park - is a place I’m mighty excited for - an incubator for some of Shanghai’s most left field acts - not afraid to mix things up and wave their freak flag proudly. Case in point - the latest oddball medley of experimental, noise, and perplexing from analog collector, manipulator, and ‘aggrandizer of disorganization’ Global Discount Centre, aka GDC, known for utilizing an array of discarded electrical relics. He has rounded up quite the crew - including ‘the king of controlled crescendo,’ Mai Mai, bringing a keyboard-centric set; brooding dark ambient mood setter Black Stump, bringing with him an array of traditional instruments; and the mysterious and ‘cackling’ Chris X. Things will certainly get weird, and I couldn’t be happier.
Luuv Label - the ever-dependable tastemakers with their finger on the pulse - put the spotlight on some of the indie scene’s unsung acts, as well as its freshest blood. A stellar lineup led by Aza’s Pipper. Dream pop with a sci-fi edge - shoegaze with a fantastical narrative thrust - no matter how you want to paint it - the Hangzhou band is a truly original act that isn’t afraid to get caught up in its whimsy and grand displays of emotion - traversing across sublime walls of sound, effervescent synthesizers, and pitched-up elfish vocals that feel like a cross between Studio Ghibli and Avatar. They join Suzhou’s Clay Doll, who, wrapped in a blanket of tender indie pop and slow-grooving surf rock, look to infuse their shoegaze-infused dream pop palette with breezy sun-kissed charm. Rounding out the lineup is Shanghai's young Midwest emo ruffians, lastwejust… who imbue their music with a scrappy magnetism that’s sincere above all else.
The Summer Shape Indoor Music Festival goes out with a bang over at VAS est on the West Bund this Sunday - with a stacked lineup featuring some of the most hyped acts, including indie neo folk acts from Beijing - Default and Mimik Banka, whose tender, earthly, and harmony-based sound embraces a more orchestral and cerebral chamber pop sound. Meanwhile, Sleep Leaps from Chengdu returned last month with their sophomore LP - Summer Outside - refining and expanding their punch-drunk love blend of blissed-out shoegaze and spry power pop. It’s all rounded out by Beijing electro pop singer-songwriter Qin Fanqi and longstanding powerhouse Taiwanese indie rock acts Jade Eyes and Tizzy Bac.
