Salty Tomorrow 明天的盐, BurgerSuicideClub, The Third Toe 第三脚趾 – Yuyintang Park 育音堂音乐公园 2021.09.21
After my stint in Hangzhou, decided to close out my four-day gig bender with Salty Tomorrow’s tour date. In support of their new album, it was heartening to see how much the Hangzhou band has grown in just over a year. Tighter yet more vulnerable when the music calls for it, it still is amazing to see how they balance and merge the two halves of their sound – the popish and even at times sentimental side and its rouge twisty post punk side. Above all though, it’s how engaging it can be lyrically – there’s a block-building drive to how certain songs unfold and loop back on each other – but it’s the sincerity embedded in every word that rings true.
Support came in the form of the Third Toe and BurgerSuicideClub – two Shanghai bands whose off-kilter takes on the post punk genre offered some nice contrast. Was shocked to see how ravenous the crowd were for the Third Toe – the young trio who seemingly emerged out of nowhere over the summer. With an emphasis more on the barer dance elements of the genre and an anthemic drive to their songs, they seem to find satirical buoyancy among the simmering synths, steady bass, and charging drums. And note to emerging bands – that’s how you do visuals for your band.
Meanwhile, BurgerSuicideClub continues to prove to be an outlier to Shanghai’s music scene – a beautiful strange anomaly that takes delight in twisting convention. There’s a detached, art school conviction to the band that toes the line between helpless and exasperation – a surreal haze that the band seems to operate from that’s hypnotic to the ears – David Lynchian vibes which I’m always down with. The individual elements don’t always meld as well together as they could but again, that’s part of the appeal for me.
Well – that’s four nights out my body will never thank me for. Will be restraining myself come next week.
Be the first to comment