Live music review: Art-rock act Water From Your Eyes and UK band Squid sold-out Parish
A lot of shit hit the fan in the music world during the pandemic closures. Touring was a no-go. Sudden illness canceled tours even after reopening, and multi-country appearances from touring acts would become a precarious endeavor. For the English post-punk band Squid, the day finally came to return to Austin last Friday night. With the band announcing to the audience that it would be their first Austin stop in 5 years, a lot was on the table for a dedicated, energetic, sold-out crowd. Brooklyn art-rock duo Water From Your Eyes opened the evening, starting late due to the logistics of getting a packed Austin crowd inside the East Austin concert staple, Parish.
New York band, Water From Your Eyes, a signee of Matador Records, rocked out to the audience while saving time for lyricism that veers on a revolution against a continuing gerontocracy. When WFYE emerged onstage, a four-piece ensemble appeared, a full band lineup built on vocalist Rachel Brown and guitarist Nate Amos. “Buy My Product” opened the set, with its thundering bass and infectious groove setting a heavy tone for what was to come on the Friday evening. “Show me what you got,” Brown says on the track. The stage came ready for an evening of confrontational messaging, with a touch of humor that could be instigated by a game of THC edible roulette to see who gets the higher dose.
The 45-minute presentation saw Water From Your Eyes plugging into all the oddities that make them one of indie rock’s most coveted acts of the 2020s. Vocalist Brown pranced around on stage in an animated fashion while the backing band mimicked every instrumental that can either bring an Oxford-indie style ethereal section to a squealing guitar, Idles-esque, noisy, punk meltdown. Brown’s vocals convey discernment, allowing for the ensemble’s massive sound to prop up the moodiness and raw emotion expressed by the vocalist’s subtle, yet pronounced delivery.
The most prominent audience participation came with track duo “Structure” and “Barley,” both off their critically acclaimed new album Everyone’s Crushed. In the latter, Brown sings “1..2..3..4 I Count Mountains,” a record opener, that if it doesn’t hook you as a listener, then the NY twosome probably isn’t for you. Notably, as a duo, the band has taken influence from the Pennsylvania weirdo songwriting legends Ween. The duo manages to get weirder and weirder with each release, and they keep pushing the envelope further, or as Ween fans might call it, “Getting Browner.”
Brown and Amos also have their solo projects; thanks for coming, and This Is Lorelei, the latter of which will perform this Spring at SXSW 2024. The pair are prolific, and their onstage tenacity proves it. With the Water From Your Eyes songwriting team seeing more and more massive critical success, we can hope that longer, more expansive sets are on the horizon for them. The last tune saw Brown and Amos closing out the set as the rest of the band departing the stage and leaving the pair as their duoship intended, signing off an eclectic and beautifully weird opening act.
After an extended intermission, Squid took the stage and got down to their tight, rock-solid punk prowess, which showed the quintet in their pure form. Hailing from Brighton, England, the five-some shows an affinity for punk and noise rock and dabbles in new wave with their panic-stricken, loudly spoken, vocal delivery. Fresh off the release of their accomplished sophomore effort, O Monolith, Squid aimed to end their Austin dry spell with a road train of tunes that are as aggressive as they are explorative.
Frontman/drummer Ollie Judge handles primary vocal duties while maintaining a jittery post-punk delivery with the band’s auxiliary instrumentation that included brass, cowbell, and Güiro to back the keyboard and guitars to complete the well-rounded ensemble. “Swing (in a Dream)” as the opener started a patient stream of everything the audience was in for during the evening’s headlining performance. With a synthy keyboard section played by Arthur Leadbetter, accompanied by a trebly bass line by Louis Borlase kicking off the track, Judge’s vocals soon begin to unhinge, as Laurie Nankivell the group’s trumpetier appears to backdrop a down strummed heavy guitar whirlpool.
Latest single, “Fugue (Bin Song),” also made an appearance; just released in 2024, the UK band took the new cut for a walk like it was already a polished, long-standing piece. The 2024 single soon erupts into Squid firing on all cylinders, with the vocal presence getting more intense as the track delves into unbridled furry. The Austin crowd reacted to the act’s live venture with an explosive response, allowing stage diving, moshing wall-to-wall excitement. Some audience members even arrived at the show wearing plush Squid hats, which unfortunately were not included at Squid’s merch table for the evening.
A longer cut came in the form of “Narrator” off the band’s debut effort Bright Green Field. The 8 ½ minute tune tests the listener’s patience, which involves a repeated vocal section that drones on the phrase “I’ll play mine, I’ll play mine, I’ll play mine, I’ll play mine.” The ensuing crowd chaos showed the pogoing antics begin to falter with the longer runtime as Squid reached the last quarter of their show. Props to Parish staff for letting the mayhem carry through the evening, the energy didn’t stop until the last note was played.
“Paddling,” “Documentary Filmmaker,” and “The Blades” acted as the one-two-three punch to end the night. “Paddling” showed the English group preparing for the last hurrah, with Judge screaming, “Don’t push me in!” as the chorus goes. “Documentary Filmmaker” saw a horn-guided section backed by a yelped vocal delivery that got its point across as the brass section built to cacophonous levels. As “The Blades” sealed things off for the evening, the attendees could reflect on the short but sweet bill at Parish on the February night. The packed gig was gratifying, and the passion surrounding crazy music in Austin is always a special treat.
All photos by Caitlin King
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