RINGO DEATHSTARR MAKING NOISE AND MAGIC AT BABY'S ALL RIGHT

Austin natives Ringo Deathstarr have certainly been making waves in the last few years. Their surging ability to produce a wall of sound that can devastate and intoxicate has certainly be heard from across the country. They came to Baby’s All Right as they tour in support of their new album Pure Mood, and they were taking no prisoners, although they did come armed with some powerful shoegazing allies.

Things started out with the towering tsunami of sound that is Brooklyn’s own Dead Leaf Echo. With extensive use of reverb, delay, and driving rhythms, they prove to be the perfect sonic lovers rock band: their presence is impossible to ignore, their swells gives you chills, and their melodies keep you entranced. They reach all over your brain for every button to push, and I personally ended soaked in my own excitement. I can’t deny, I thought this was one of the best sets by any band I’ve seen this year so far. They describe their own sound as Nouveau Wave, but they really follow in the roaring footsteps of classic power shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. This is a sound that is steadily becoming more popular recently than it was back in the day, so I could definitely see them hitting some major success.

Dead Leaf Echo

Next was The Stargazer Lilies who continued the sprawling soundscapes theme that was definitely forming this night. They too, have a sort of lush atmosphere-heavy shoegaze sound, although theirs is more of lighter ambient psych caressing touch. There was definitely a mellower space-out vibe throughout, which was good to chill out to. They were a different kind of storm than the other two bands, more like a cool summer shower as opposed to a hurricane.

The Stargazer Lilies

Then there was the sensations themselves, Ringo Deathstarr. There are certainly other bands that share a similar sound to this band these days, but there is certainly few who can do it nearly as well as they do it. They don’t hide beneath their walls of sound as much as wrap themselves in them with volcanic guitars and earth-shattering drums. With almost a dozen releases to their name, they’ve clearly already matured and figured out where they want to go, and yet they do keep growing and exporing. Sure, they could be compared to greats like Ride, Lush, or even Smashing Pumpkins, but they are their own unique tempest. With noise and distortion, they produce magic and heart. Even though they could have skipped the corny Pearl Jam cover towards the end of their set, the whole show had me enraptured.