To celebrate the release of their debut LP This Is Not A Bedroom, Alex Napping recruited a standout lineup of Austin bands–Big Bill, Soft Swells, and Löwin–to play alongside them on Friday night at Cheer Up Charlie’s. Leading up to the album’s release, the band has garnered widespread acclaim from the likes of Stereogum, Paste, and Impose, not to mention Pop Press INTL. Heading into the show with a freight train of buzz, the evening held wondrous potential and lived up to the anticipation.
As the bill unfolded, the crowd steadily built until the small venue became packed to capacity just before Alex Napping took the stage. Feeding off of the energy of a full and energetic room, the band powered through songs that balance airy indie pop centered on frontwoman Alex Cohen’s vocals and crunchy guitar riffs bolstered by Andrew Stevens’ unhinged drumming. Alex napping is a band that functions on turning dichotomy into harmony. Usual bassist Tomás Garcia-olano was missing from the lineup and stand-in Sam Houdek of Growl did an excellent job bringing onstage energy, not an easy feat for anyone who has seen Garcia-olano’s relentlessly giddy stage antics. Having been to most of Alex Napping’s shows, I’m fairly confident that Friday marks their largest crowd to date–a well deserved achievement to accompany an important milestone for this young, hardworking band.
Earlier in the night, Soft Swells played a solid set of songs that embraced indie-rock full on. As bands have worked ever more diligently to fuse genres and push genres in new directions, incorporating synths into folk music or noise into dance music, the tried and true rock band has all but disappeared from clubs. Soft Swells’ set of no-frills indie rock translated as free of pretension and thus refreshingly sincere. And if these ideological parsings of musical stylings aren’t swaying you, rest assured, the band sounded great. Just four dudes kicking out rock jams with well placed climbs and falls. We’re in.
Löwin kicked off the night with a set of crunch, powerful rock tunes. Collaborators Taylor Wilkins and Sara Houser dissolved their band The Couch last year to form Otis the Destroyer and Löwin respectively. While some might have lamented the end of a band that rocked so hard, Austin ended up better off with two bands that rock that hard. Under the leadership of Sara House, Löwin delivers merciless jams that melt faces. See them if you haven’t. Check out photos of the night below.
All photographs © Bryan C. Parker & Pop Press International; all rights reserved. Click any image to open in slideshow viewer.
