“Shoegaze” is a word that’s been repeated until it’s lost all definition. (Which, oddly enough, is exactly the kind of effect that shoegaze music evokes!) But there’s no avoiding it: We/Ours is a shoegaze band. With members of Minneapolis favorites such as Sundowners, Frozen Teens, and Causal User, We/Ours have their origins in punk and hardcore. But now, they step on the pedals, and drive off in a dreamier direction. The guitars hum like a well-tuned engine, the songs roll past like sun dappled scenery, and the destination’s always over the horizon.
Marx Marston’s new age dance-pop is the most intriguing musical phenomenon in Detroit today. Josie Vee and Lily Nyooni combine obvious talent with enigmatic glamour. Ancient wisdom with digital media. R&B glitter with DIY grit. This allows them to explore themes that might seem trite in lesser hands. Marx Marston manage to make spiritual enlightenment seem like a fresh concept. Any band that can pull that off is doing crucial work, and we’re thrilled that the Trumbullplex can be a part of it.
Flint’s Phosphor Elephants understand synth pop to be a style of blues. Oh, they’re not all Blueshammer about it. But like Yazoo before them, they use electronic instruments to tap into the same urgent rhythms and honest stories that have fueled more than a hundred years of popular music. Of course, in 2014, synth pop has its own set of traditions. Phosphor Elephants draw upon those as well, thrifting all sorts of lovable 80s kitsch, and slathering it in a fresh coat of day glo.
Saturday, October 4
7 pm
All ages
$6 suggested donation
Trumbullplex
4210 Trumbull
Detroit
