Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Rendered senseless by my enchantment with Flooding’s self-titled album, I was involuntarily drawn like a moth to the glaring lights in the basement of 7th Heaven to catch the Kansas City debut of the young Lawrence trio on Friday, October 1.
Flooding overcame harsh optics and an awkwardly demure audience of about 50 to successfully reproduce the recording’s haunting sound. The convincing display of loud/soft, fast/slow dynamics validated my suspicion that Flooding is the region’s most promising new rock band.
Overlaying the downtempo elements of ‘80-era Sonic Youth with subsequent post-punk developments, Flooding has an engaging- albeit somewhat anachronistic- sound. Rose Brown’s disarming whisper and effective guitar attack, Cole Billing’s reserved bass and terrifying screams and Zach Cunningham’s spare drumming revealed gobs of raw talent.
A few more rehearsals and additional gigs will almost certainly allow the trio to overcome the tentativeness and endearingly amateurish aspects evident at 7th Heaven. I’m looking forward to bragging about having seen ‘em when.
Perfume opened the show. The Kansas City trio’s recent release Charlie's Angels sounds like the Smashing Pumpkins gone wrong, but a couple promising moments of Perfume’s set approached the grandiosity of Billy Corgan’s band.
As the promoter (and my In My Headache podcast partner) confesses in his notes at Shuttlecock Music Magazine, the Louisville based headliner Sidestep was shortchanged. I wasn’t able to form an opinion of Sidestep’s sound as the musician raced against the retailer’s curfew.