Gluestick of death

September 23rd, 2011 | By Elise Gallant gallante@grinnell.edu | Section: Arts

Do you crave a good fist-pounding, head-banging, mosh-inducing general free-for-all of sound? Or just didn’t get enough of it this Wednesday? Then come to Gardner Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. to see Bass Drum of Death with Grinnell’s very own post-punk sound-wave trio Gluestick opening.

Gluestick is comprised of Vadim Fainberg ’13 on bass, Clint Williamson ’13 on guitar, and Grinnell’s Concert Chair Pooj Padmaraj ’13 on drums.

This weekend will mark Gluestick’s first performance of the semester. They will attempt to top last year’s performances when they played in the middle of the south campus loggia, on Mian Hall’s 2nd Loggia, and as an opener for Wild Nothing + Abe Vigoda, a performance in which Williamson sliced his fingers on his guitar strings and sprayed blood all over Gardner floor.

Gluestick energetically anticipates Sunday’s show—in order to try out material which they hope to take on tour over fall break and because, in Williamson’s words, “Bass Drum of Death is actually my favorite band.”

It’s true, Bass Drum of Death and Gluestick have a similar aesthetic— rocking hard with hair obscuring their face and often with their backs to the audience.

Bass Drum of Death shares the Fat Possum Label with last Wednesday’s headliner Unknown Mortal Orchestra and will bring a similar yet heavier vibe to Gardner lounge.

The band is comprised of John on guitar and Colin on drums, both of whom prefer to go by first-name-basis only. They are from Oxford, Mississippi and some tracks reveal their country accent.

Their last release GB City is a throbbing mess of reverb, beach-rock inspired guitar hooks, and of course, apocalyptically loud drums.  In the chorus of their single “Heart Attack Kid” the drums, guitar and vocals all combine in short staccato bursts of garage-punk frenzy.

Pitchfork describes their track “Spare Room,” saying “They start tying it up in ropes of guitar and then low-end arrives in the form of a nasty, ridiculously feral five-note bass run that cracks the song open. What’s inside is nothing but squall and darkness, not unlike everything their name suggests.”

This Sunday, Gluestick and Bass Drum of Death will be taking the Gardner stage by storm, it’ll be raining reverb and post-punk chord progressions. Sure to be a good way to start off the week.