The sweltering Texas heat had just barely subsided when it was time for the bands to take the stage at the Mohawk on a Saturday night. An open-air venue, like the Mohawk, is a godsend for all parties involved since it offers an alternative hard to the sauna-like hotbox that is most Austin indoor venues.  Deafheaven, a band that has been vilified by metal purists for their genre-bending, decided to incorporate an even more atypical opening act for their tour in Drab Majesty, a retro-wave Los Angeles duo.  While both band’s music can be considered dark, morbid, and alternative, there is very little else that connects their sound, yet despite this, the show ended up being highly entertaining.

Drab Majesty has a tragic and disaffected aura that is framed with synth-heavy hooks and new wave beats.  The futuristic-looking L.A. duo mix their alien aesthetic with beautiful soundscapes that tantalize the ears and eyes. While Drab majesty seemed to entrance the audience at times, their music was a fairly stark contrast to the shoegaze metal of Deafheaven. 

After Drab Majesty left the stage, the San Francisco headliners assumed the stage in their classic style of humble pageantry. Lead singer, George Clark, is a hero to legions of fans who relate to his fiery masculine passion, which is ribboned with a relatable streak of self-doubt. Like Deafheaven’s music, which shirks the unrelenting testosterone of typical heavy metal for a more introspective slow burn, it’s fan base is also a bit more layered than your typical headbanger.

There aren’t many bands that can cover an hour and a half with only eight songs, but that is exactly what Deafheaven accomplished.  An obvious focus on their latest record, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, netted half of the songs on their set.  However  it was the tracks off of their first album, Sunbather, that gauged the most visceral reaction.  While the venue was already packed to a suffocating maximum, “Sunbather” got a rabid response from the pit and every echelon.

While the songs off the new album got head nods and recognition, the venue literally began to tremble during the encore performance of “Dream House”.  At some point, watching Deafheaven becomes less of a concert and more of a therapy session, as George’s screams are met with hundreds of others, and the expulsion of energy propels the energy in the building to unheralded levels. An intense night at Mohawk passed like a thunderstorm, going from tense and riotous until it finally dissipated into a serene calm.

Creepers are a band to watch. Formed out of members of fellow Bay Area bands Deafheaven, White Cloud and Golden Drugs, the group sounds like psych rock with a progressive rock twist. Formed in 2011, the band recently released its first EP in October 2013. The recent self-titled EP contains two songs – Forked Tongues and Drug Vision. With shallow vocals and instrumentals that gravitate between blistering and subdued speeds, the first (and longest) song Forked Tongues is an epic, and is more reminiscent of psych rock. Drug Vision is an up-tempo tune, where Creepers’ prog-rock influences are more apparent. In the end, the two songs come together to create a cohesive and dynamic release. -Erin Dage

Be sure to catch Creepers at the Hemlock Tavern with Wreck and Reference and So Stressed December 22.

Echo Park based label Sargent House is set to take over the Echo and Echoplex this Thursday and Friday. Japanese post-noise trio, Boris, will be headlining both nights at the Echoplex playing a wide array of classics and never before heard tunes. San Francisco-based black metal quintet, Deafheaven, will be joining them both nights at the Echoplex, with Marriages opening the show on Thursday and Ides of Gemini on Friday night. Some hardcore math rock will be taking over the Echo on Thursday night with NorCal band, Tera Melos headlining, and Oxford based This Town Needs Guns lending support. Marriages, formerly Red Sparowes, are the newest band to join the family, and are based here in Los Angeles. Having recently released their debut EP, Kitsune, they have announced a national tour in support of Deafheaven this summer. Alluringly sensual dramatic rock with shades of doom and psych, the 6 song EP is streaming below from their bandcamp. - Jacqueline Caruso

DEAFHEAVEN & MARRIAGES Tour Dates:
Jun 19, 2013 - Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room
Jun 21, 2013 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
Jun 22, 2013 - Austin, TX  @ Red 7
Jun 23, 2013 - Houston, TX @ Mango’s
Jun 25, 2013 - Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub
Jun 26, 2013 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Jun 26, 2013 - North Birmingham, AL @ The Forge
Jun 27, 2013 - Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone Club
Jun 29, 2013 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade
Jun 30, 2013 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
Jul 1, 2013 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary
Jul 2, 2013 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus Bar
Jul 3, 2013 - Cambridge, MA @ T.T. The Bear’s Place
Jul 5, 2013 - Cleveland Heights, OH@ Grog Shop
Jul 6, 2013 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
Jul 7, 2013 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick Lounge
Jul 8, 2013 - Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
Jul 9, 2013 - Denver, CO @ The Marquis Theater
Jul 10, 2013 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Jul 11, 2013 - Seattle, WA  @ El Corazon
Jul 13, 2013 - Portland, OR @ Bunker Bar
Jul 15, 2013 - San Francisco, CA @ The Bottom of the Hill