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AURAL FIX
Photo by Phil Chester
up and coming music from the national scene
1 PURE BATHING CULTURE OCTOBER 23 | MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS Duo Sarah Versprille and Daniel Hindman are Pure Bathing Culture, the time-traveling indie rock band currently residing in Portland, Oregon. Their 1980s aesthetic is so genuine that shifting time and space explains not only the big hair and fog machines used in glorious excess in the music video for “All Night,” but also the dreamy tone of their synth and electric guitar. They are captivating to modern music audiences, having toured by request with Death Cab for Cutie, Lucius and The Shins. This is not some throwback band; yes, their sound is nostalgic, but by wholeheartedly embracing their choices, they are creating modern classics from another era, hence: time-travellers. As they might put it, they having been honing a sonic virtue. The present isn’t always easy for time-travellers. In the last several years, they were not only dropped by their label, Partisan Records, but also parted ways with their management team. They are resilient though, as demonstrated in the lyrics to “Thin Growing Things”: “Lift for love and live for something/ Lift for love and live through something/ Lift for love and live through
Photo by Julien Burgueno
2 HELLO YELLO OCTOBER 10 | CRYSTAL BALLROOM Surrounded by Oakland’s hip hop charged music scene, Hello Yello, made up of brothers Dylan and Jaden Wiggins, along with their friend Martin Rodrigues, has taken a more alt rock music route. The trio’s punk and garage sounds come from
something else.” Together with local legend, Tucker Martine (R.E.M., Modest Mouse, The Decemberists), they crafted their latest album Night Pass (Infinite Companion) with meticulous care to serve as a time-machine, so that any listener can go back to a time of easy listening radio hits with sad lyrics that make you feel good. If you’d like to join them in person, don’t miss them at Mississippi Studios October 23. Whether you get drawn in by Sarah’s dramatic performance or Daniel’s easeful mastery of his instrument, there is something enthralling about being there with them as they co-create their very personal, very beautiful music together. In such an intimate space, with such great sound, it truly will be a journey. » – Matthew Weatherman
growing up listening to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Linkin Park and Soundgarden. Despite being nudged toward R&B, especially with their father, D’Wayne Wiggins, who was part of the ’90s R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, Hello Yello followed what comes naturally to them as musicians, an electrifying, renewed grunge rock sound. Hello Yello is pretty fresh on the scene and has been putting out music as a band for about a year now. Making music was no accident for Rodrigues and the Wiggins brothers, who all attended the Oakland School for the Arts. There, they brushed shoulders with many big name actors and artists who were in their early beginnings, such as H.E.R. and Zendaya. It was while they were in school that Dylan and Jaden began making music with a pre-fame Kehlani. The Wiggins brother had originally joined forces with Kehlani and Zendaya to form the group Poplyfe, which went on to finish in fourth place on NBC’s hit show “America’s Got Talent,” in 2011. It wasn’t until forming SMSHNG HRTS that the trio started playing together as a band, performing pop and R&B tunes. After some naming rights issues with the Smashing Pumpkins, Hello Yello came to fruition, leaving traces of R&B throughout their debut EP Love Wins— especially the feel good track, “Feel That Again.” Amidst a music renaissance, merging emo and punk with hip hop and R&B, Hello Yello is taking their music to a whole new level. It’s not often lo-fi guitars, screamo vocals, funky bass lines and soulful drums collide together perfectly capturing the angst and energy of being young in such a rare way. » – Liz Garcia
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