A DEER A HORSE HERDED A ROARING SHOW AT THE GLOVE

The Brooklyn scorchers A Deer A Horse headlined a show at the relatively new Brooklyn DIY spot The Glove, and they brought along a serious amount of firepower with some great bands that brought all the face-melting force that was needed to light the fuse for one seriously explosive night. This was my first time at this backroom DIY locale, and I always get excited about finding a new concert spot, especially as I’ve been seeing so many of the small stages in NYC vanish with increasing regularity as gentrifying neighborhoods continue to expand their white bread blandness to the once mean streets of the Big Apple. I can already tell that this may become one of my favorite clandestine gig pads where you can find the wizard of rock hiding just behind the curtain.

I came crashing in to catch one of my favorite local bands of many years by the name of Parlor Walls. This experimental act was most recently a trio with a scorching sax player, but now they have stripped down to an even edgier duo of guitarist and singer Alyse Lamb and drummer Chris Mulligan. Defining this band is a fool’s errand, as their sound is so dynamic and unique. The group’s stripping down to a duo feels as though it really has allowed the two core members to really spread out and explore the sonic soundscapes even more than before. Chris’s subversive off-time rhythms trembles with jazz edge, while his use of electronic sounds helps create a fittingly discombobulating feeling that at times feels like pure mad genius. Alyse’s axe work slices through songs like a brutal assassin, and the echoing lyrics further twist your mind into madness, while her multidisciplinary performance artist background adds the proper fire to the creative gravitas of the show. They did release an EP called EXO last year, but now as a twosome, they are playing lots of exciting new material that I can’t wait to hear more of.

Parlor Walls

Next up was a power trio from Boston by the name of Kal Marks who barrage the senses with a drudgy and raw hard-rock drive with shrieking roars and guttural grinding. Guitarist Carl Shane has a surprisingly alluring sense of humor about his dark songs of death and destruction, and his squalling axe solos blaze through those grungy rhythms of bassist Michael Geacone and drummer Alex Audette like pouring gasoline on an already raging fire. The band is no spring chicken, as they have been playing for several years and have many recordings under their belt already, but their third album Universal Care from last year should be a definite listen for any audiophile looking to get loud and abrasive as all hell!

Kal Marks

Finishing out the night was another of my favorite local bands called A Deer A Horse, who have been away touring the country and crusading for metal heads everywhere for ages it seems, but now they have now returned to reclaim their throne of devil horn raging hard-rock. Their sound builds to volcanic extremes, as the riff-heavy charges make you freeze with fear until the molten power melts all your inhibitions, and you inevitably transform into a head-banging maniac. Most of their songs build up the thick and oozy guitars and grinding rhythms until they inevitably snap into mass-murder mode and rip into your very soul. The power trio is duel-fronted by bassist Angela Phillips and guitarist Rebecca Satellite while being driven straight into madness by drummer Dylan Teggart. They recently released a pair of singles “Cold Shoulder” and “Double Wide” that have been on almost constant repeat on my earphones for the last few months, and they are preparing to release a full album in the near future, and I can’t wait to go deaf listening to it over and over and dangerous volumes.