Maybe Mars celebrated their eleven year anniversary with a relatively low-key gathering at Yue Space, where three of the label’s flagship bands – Chui Wan, Alpine Decline, and Birdstriking – got down to business. Nowhere near the scale that the label pulled off last year but instead a more intimate affair. One of the first pleasures of the night – was the return of Alpine Decline, who managed to get some time off to make the trip from their new home base of LA. They’re a band that’s been wildly consistent and prolific in their album output and it was great to finally hear some of my favorite songs off their newest Return to Desolation Lake, which dropped earlier this year. It was my first time also to catch the new Chui Wan lineup, which now includes some of Maybe Mars newer employees. It’s a bit disheartening to see Liu Xinyu and Li Zichao missing from the group (Wu Qiong and Wen Zheng filling in), but it’s good to see the band streamlining their sound more and more – it definitely feels like they’re aiming to deliver a more compact, digestible version of themselves. Curious to see how that’ll pan out. Finally, Birdstriking, once again proving they’re one of the scenes most vital bands. Wiser perhaps, but they still have the sharp wit and primal angst that originally made them one of the most cathartic rockets out there and one of my favorite live acts period. Mosh pit season it was. Happy anniversary Maybe Mars!
Related Articles

Video
MV Weekly: Chui Wan, Soundtoy
Daydreams rendered through animation and more with the latest music videos from Beijing’s Chui Wan and Chengdu’s Soundtoy. Youtube Chui Wan – Sheep’s Shadow 羊的影子 Chui Wan has smartly put out a music video for […]

On The Scene
Gig Recap: P.K.14, Lonely Leary (Yue Space 2017.06.24)
Post punk godfathers P.K.14 capped off their China tour with a rousing, enthralled performance at Yue Space that left nothing to the imagination and left most of us in the pit a sweaty mess by the end. But then […]

New Releases
News, Releases, Yada Yada Yada
Time for your bimonthly dose of news from within the Big Red – this week with the latest from Queen Sea Big Shark, Residence A, Jurat T.T., Perpetual Motion Machine, The Tree, and more. It’s […]
Be the first to comment