Trash Sun lives free and dies at The 4th Wall on Friday, 15 November 2024.

Declaw, The Dreamtoday, and Petal Dance help celebrate the one-year anniversary of The 4th Wall.

Digital Awareness in the house.

Happy birthday to The 4th Wall! One year of shows, a little recognition with a nomination for best small venue in the Boston Music Awards, and tons of bands finding their way to the stage. Not bad.

A five-piece gazey hard pop band Petal Dance warmed up the room on the night of Trash Sun’s record release celebration. Is Salem band celebrating any of its own recent releases? Not sure, nothing up on Bandcamp, and their IG bio just reads: “staring at the sun.” So maybe they’re just vibing on Trash Sun’s latest for now. Extra points for the Dowsing Rod t-shirt.

Trash Sun celebrated the release of their EP Live Free And Die, which dropped in early November.

I know that title is a play on the famous historical phrase and New Hampshire motto (which derives from a letter written by 19th-century General John Stark). The original phrase is “Live Free or Die.” Substituting an “and” for the “or” changes the meaning, but not sure how. If you know, let me know in the comments, ring the bell, and smash that smashscribe button.

The five-piece played a leisurely set, looping in more than a few songs from their EP, and weaved a violin player into the proceedings. Too few violin players on the rock n roll scene. Haven’t we learned from the Velvet Underground’s “Venus In Furs”? The droney buzzsawing of a violin creates alien worlds.

Shout out to the Asian pop on the house mix between sets. I don’t mean Kpop. I mean the kind of throwaway pop ditties that you hear as backing tracks for popular songs at dive bar karaoke lounges. You know, the karaoke situations with the knock off videos full of plotless vignettes, featuring young women running through fields of wildflowers and lounging by waterfalls? I’d be more specific if I was able to.

Hazey, gazey The Dreamtoday performed as a four-piece in the third slot of the bill. Often times the showcased band plays the third spot on a four band bill, so you might think it was Trash Sun’s for the taking since it was their record release show. But you know, there are no rules.

Hump Day News has been covering the MA/NH band for a couple of years now, having written up a track or two from their 2022 release A Static World. The lineup has shuffled a bit since then, though it’s not clear how much of it is simply due to the logistics of assembling a full lineup for live shows when band members live in different states.

Shout out to the sometimes-bassist who rocks the Electric Banana bass, “Pini” or “Pee Nee” or “Pee Knee” or “Peeni”? Not sure exactly what the drummer said to me after the gig when I remarked on the lineup shuffling, and their sometimes-bassist, but you never know what to expect. In fact, the band rolled out a surprise vocalist about halfway through the set.

Truth be told, the guitars were so damn loud that it was hard to hear any vocals, but with shoegaze that aims for The Jesus and Mary Chain-levels of amplified chaos, every additional layer of sound is just so much gravy on the mashed potatoes.

The three-piece Declaw closed out with a post hardcore set that traded vocals between the bass and guitar. Shades of Pile here and there, but with more shouty vox.

Hump Day News reviewed a track off their 2023 EP Lowlight Reel. They’ve put out a few songs since then, including a split titled Same Tab with Three Sided Die. (That’s impossible, right? You can’t physically have a die with three sides.) And I love splits, but was there a physical release with this? Because if it’s just a digital release, then the split concept feels like a very symbolic gesture. Maybe they were sharing studio time or something like that?

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