by Kate Bell | Nov 23, 2022
Weeping Icon at Alphaville (photo by Kevin McGann)
The first time I saw the extraordinary noise punk band Weeping Icon was at the Bushwick venue Alphaville in 2017, and I was instantly mesmerized. Their music, then and now, comes at you with the force of an electrical storm, laced through with trenchant social and political commentary in the lyrics. This past Friday, they were back at Alphaville for the first time since the pandemic began. (The venue had stopped having live music during the struggles of the past three years, but recently reopened its stage again.) Adding to the festive mood on Friday, Weeping Icon had just released their newest EP, Ocelli (read our review), the first new offering from them since their self-titled debut LP in 2019. Both the musicians and the packed crowd were in the mood to celebrate, myself included.
The Brooklyn trio JWC kicked off the night with their unique ethereal sound, focused around lilting guitar solos and dreamy vocals from Jeremy Cox (formerly of LODRO), also featuring Mike Sheffield (of Heaven’s Gate) and Dan Mehaffey.
Next to take the stage was the experimental quartet YHWH Nailgun, who also just released a new EP, No Midwife and I Wingflap. Originally formed in Philadelphia as a collaboration between drummer Sam Pickard and vocalist Zach Borzone, the band is now Brooklyn-based with Jack Tobias on synths and Sanguiv Rosenstock on guitar. Their music has been described as: “the feeling of a punch, taking heavier, industrial sounds, and condensing them into more urgent, digestible forms, and infusing that with the luster of electronic and dance music.” The punch was palpable as YHWH Nailgun took the stage, with Borzone stretching out on the floor before their set. He needed to stretch since he was literally vibrating with the intensity of the music, yelling out a quick staccato “thank you” at the conclusion of each song.
Before Weeping Icon took the stage, the crowd was treated to a quick performance from trans queen, Harlequin Panic, who encouraged everyone to stand up for trans rights, an issue that Weeping Icon clearly cares about, among many others. Bassist Sarah Reinold started out the sonic hypnosis with waves of rumbling noise that then built into the band’s most recent single from Ocelli, “Two Ways.” Guitarist Sara Fantry’s lyrics channeled the voice of a two-faced sexist man, who is verbally abusive to some women while insisting that he will change whenever he’s called out on his bullshit (and of course he never changes). The song also has a fantastic video directed by Rafael Joson and Mike Andretti which sees the band played by actors on a Jerry Springer-esque talk show that devolves into the predictable mayhem of the original show.
From that strong beginning, the set also included two brand new yet-to-be-titled unrecorded songs that had relentless grooves driven by Lani Combier-Kapel on drums, and awash in the pulsing noise tapestries created by Weeping Icon’s newest member, Heather Elle (also of Flossing), on electronica; the band was also joined by special guest saxophonist, Kate Mohanty. They closed out the night with Ocelli’s first single, “Pigs, Shit, and Trash,” with Combier-Kapel shouting out intense vocals that call to task government officials and the wealthy for their lack of action in an unjust world. This song also has a surreal–or too real?–video directed by Alice Millar.
It was beyond wonderful to see Weeping Icon back on the Alphaville stage, and I’m excited to listen to Ocelli on repeat over the coming months. I stepped out into Friday’s freezing temperatures still sweating from the warmth of the crowd and the fire burning within all of the night’s music. Huge congratulations to Weeping Icon on another powerful record!
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kevin McGann)
JWC
YHWH NAILGUN
WEEPING ICON
by Kate Hoos | Mar 4, 2022
Venus Twins at The Broadway (photo by Kate Hoos)
If there’s one thing I love, it’s a noise punk show. Heavy on the noise AND the punk please. I was due to work Patti Smith’s show the same night at a large venue across town and was going to run over after my shift to catch the very end of things, but then luck intervened and my boss was looking to cut some staff for the evening so I jumped at the chance to be there for the majority of the show and get my noise fix in. (No offense to Ms. Smith of course, I’ve seen her twice already and worked one of her shows; she was fantastic every time.)
YHWH Nailgun opened the evening and this was not only their EP release but their very first show as well. A Bandcamp page exists that has two older releases on it from 2020, so it appears that maybe this was a recording only project at first that now has evolved into a full band. This is deeply experimental music— synth, jazz, and rock all thrown in a blender and played in a dark and craggy cavern. I was impressed with their musicianship and am going to keep an eye on where they go next.
I saw Pons for the first time just six days before this show and in my write up on that one, I described them as a frantic noise punk band that sounds like Brainiac and Hella had a baby that was raised by no wave wolves on acid and that’s an assessment I stand by. The lighting at this show made that even more of a reality and a very delightful fever dream watching them. This band doesn’t hold back and their duel drummers make things even more exciting; they are hands down absolutely one of my new favorites to watch. I’ve been digging into their recorded catalog to get myself caught up and they have a new single coming on 3/16 (check their social media for pre-save info). You can catch them live next on 3/10 at Trans Pecos.
Bass and drums punk bands are my favorite type of lineup/sound so it really should be no surprise that Venus Twins, being masters of the style, are one of my favorite bands (and yes the name is literal, they are in fact identical twins, Jake and Matt Derting, drummer and bassist/vocalist respectively). I discovered them while working sound for one of their shows in 2019 and every time I grumble that working nights can be a drag, I think back to nights like that and I remember that it’s actually incredible because I get paid to listen to music every night and get to make awesome discoveries like this along the way. They’ve been back and forth between Brooklyn and Denton, TX ever since the pandemic hit and have been hard at work on new stuff throughout that time, playing tons of shows in Texas and touring when they have been able to. This band has one level which is MAXIMUM, going hard for every single second they’re on stage.
I know I’ve already made a comparison to Hella in this review, but it’s hard not to again with these guys, particularly when it come to Jake Derting’s drumming and its clear influence by Zach Hill. But if I’m being brutally honest here, while I do love Hella, I really think Hill was unnecessarily busy most of the time and often failed to strike the right balance with the rest of the song in many of this other projects, stomping on parts that otherwise could have been easier and more enjoyable to listen to had he just pulled back a little (I’m thinking of his work specifically in Team Sleep and The Ladies here). But this isn’t a review about him and it is about Venus Twins so let’s get back to it….Derting has a frantic style for sure, but wins this “contest” by a mile because he knows how to pair it more succinctly with what his counterpart is doing (call it twin instinct?). He also manages to make a single kick pedal sound like double bass and never stops hammering the beats (breaking his pedal halfway through the set in fact). The band has been working on new music and have a split coming as well as a new album which you know I am 100% ready for! They will be back at TV Eye on 4/8 and are looking to make the permanent move back to Brooklyn so we may be seeing much more of them soon which is a-okay in my book.
A 4th band, Castle Rat, closed out the night but sadly I had to make my departure right as they were beginning their set. They’ve got some gothy Sabbath vibes going on (and at least one member sporting a plague doctor stage outfit) so I’ll keep them on my radar to catch a show some other time.
If you’re a noise rock fan (or even otherwise) these are all bands to keep on your radar for sure.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
YHWH NAILGUN
PONS
VENUS TWINS
