Live music review: supergroup MIEN played 13th Floor ahead of sophomore album
After a massive 2024 with his main songwriting and touring machine, The Black Angels, you’d think that frontman and songwriter Alex Maas would take a moment to ride the wave of yet another successful year of touring and traveling the world as one of indie rock’s most potent staying forces. It’s true what they say that full-time musicians never step off the footpath of endless creativity and passionate, spontaneous creation. At The Black Angels-owned The 13th Floor in the Red River Cultural District on Friday evening, the stronghold of continuous overflow fusion of music for fans that dabble in the deep cuts in the realm of Primal Scream and The Jesus and the Mary Chain, Maas’ psychedelic supergroup MIEN graced the stage for the first time in seven years. Coming with an announced new sophomore full-length LP, a head-bobbing new single, and a tour overseas on deck to prove another busy year for Maas and a band with recruits from all over the globe.
MIEN is comprised of multi-instrumentalist Maas, Canada’s Elephant Stone chemist Rishi Dhir, local colossal stage show makers Golden Dawn Arkestra drummer Robb Kidd, and England’s chief Earlies member/music videographer John-Mark Lapham. A supergroup of astronomical proportions, the quartet brings unique, trippy offerings to the eclectic table. With each of these respective acts having been performing participants in The Black Angels-founded festivals, Austin Psych Fest and Levitation, the “long distance” factor doesn’t come up as a pitfall when the group gets into the studio together as the chemistry manifests with elite conditioning.
Local indie shoegaze/post-punk shapeshifters Queen Serene took the stage in the opening slot. Co-fronted by songwriting duo Sarah Ronan and Matt Galceran, the “Serenity now, insanity later” Seinfeld droll works in their inclusive favor. With guitar pedals decoratively spread across the stage, the Serene ensemble makes for a raging wall-of-sound, face-melting endeavor. With the advantageous employment of screaming guitars and the dual vocals from Ronan and Galceran, the projected fire red-vision of My Bloody Valentine is emulated through tasteful means. Following the release of their sophomore full-length 2, the solidification of the group’s compositional expertise is further stressed with their back-to-back methodology of rapid-fire herculean musical releases.
MIEN took the stage a whopping 45 minutes after Queen Serene, proving that sprawling mind-expanding coordination takes its time. The Levitation Festival-themed space was packed from front to back, with the attending crowd ready to immerse themselves in another reverb-laden exhibition. Starting with a droning synth section by the center-stage placed Dhir, the rest of the collective gradually took the stage, ready to deliver 60 minutes of carefully curated tunes from a sparse yet razor-sharp catalog. “Evil People” appeared early in the set with its amphetamine-induced pep, with Maas spitting an infectious hook with menacing intensity. TV Eye Media also manned the light boards with pulsating multi-colored patterns that became a spectacle of their own.
Throughout the psychoactive madness, the focus among the star-studded cast became a mesmerizing reality, with each member taking on their role like an assignment that their tenured musicianship depended on. Kidd’s tribal-esque drumming is a hypnotic highlight of his regular stage appearances, helping to guide the surrounding ensemble through a trippy journey of original material that captivates both in a live setting and an introspective thought process that props up the just-as-main attractions. Though not the main vocal contributor, Dhir’s harmonious backing vocal lines give the haunting Maas drawls a dissonant edge, adding a layer of intoxicating retro rock aptitude.
The searing synth-sampling that featured dueling contributions of both Dhir and Lapham interwove with vintage mellotron-cut precision, both trading parts that added an ethereal edge to the driving instrumentals that drifted between the tension and release of Kid A and Velvet Underground rawness.
The songs kept coming throughout the hour presentation, giving the audience one hell of a note to write home about in anticipation of their forthcoming record that will expand on a project whose appearances are infrequent but could undeniably be its own full-time touring vehicle. When things fizzled out for the evening, the vibes were impeccable from the tight-knit music scene of Austin, which, despite multiple venue closures and skyrocketing living costs, is still staying true to its music-first mission statement.
MIEN will appear in Europe in April for a tour stint, with their sophomore full-length Miien set to be released on April 18. Physical preorders are available via Bandcamp or the Levitation limited edition which comes in two-tone black and blue vinyl.
All photos by Casey Chumbley
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