Show Review: Cohort B, Glimmer, Holiem, Sleepwell at Mercury Lounge. March 31st, 2024
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On the third day, these bands rose again, in fulfillment of the scriptures.
April 1, 2024
Where on earth is the Easter Bunny? We spent all day yesterday looking for that rabid rabbit. By nightfall we gave up, instead packing some Easter eggs of our own to the Lower East Side’s Mercury Lounge to see Cohort B, Glimmer, Holiem, and Sleepwell raise all hell. This was a stacked lineup, as good as a greatest hits CD. Here’s what went down.
Cohort B charged hard out of the gates, so much so that their guitarist broke a string during their first song. Sleepwell donated one of their guitars for the rest of the set, love to see it. On the very next song the drummer knocked a cymbal straight off of its stand. The instruments could not handle the intensity of this band. Riffs were stomping and noisy with punk energy. This was paired with expert drumwork that seemed jazz inspired, it was so good they even gave space in the set for a drum solo. There are all sorts of opinions on drum solos, many people give them shit because frankly they are hard to pull off convincingly. This was the first we’d seen in months and it ripped.
Glimmer was next and laid it on thick. Their frontman has a whole collage of tattoos on his arms and we noticed that one of them is the Glimmer logo. We wonder if the chicken or the Easter egg came first in that situation. They whipped out a hot new track at one point. We forget what it was called, but they had to downtune in preparation for it. There were a few tuning changes throughout their set and we found it remarkable how satisfying of a sound returning is. A note slowly sinks or rises until it finds unity with its destination, like a puzzle piece fitting perfectly into place.
Listening to Holiem is like going to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. All sorts of mind bending sounds are taking place in all different kinds of flavors. Their first song was a crushing, headbanging intro that suddenly morphed into a slow, blissful reverbed guitar break, which then grabbed you by the neck and threw you back into chaos. They have so many different sounds and textures that their songs exist in an entire world of their own creation. Their bassist pulled the most tattered and wrinkled setlist we’ve ever seen out of her pocket while setting up. It was hilariously flimsy, it looked like used tissue. But at some point no one knew what song was next and she chimed in “I have the setlist, I wrote it on a napkin.”. We’ve got a Holiem interview in the pipeline that we’re excited about, so keep your eyes peeled.
Sleepwell IS the color red. They are intertwined, a sonic manifestation of a color that often evokes power, intensity, and strength. Neither guitarist nor bassist used any kind of pedals or effects, their raw energy needs no manipulation. Cohort B’s drummer was back in action behind the kit doing double duty. And again he sent a cymbal flying off its stand. This time it happened on the very last note of a song. It leapt into the air and crashed onto center stage, an exclamation point to the end of the pulverized tune. We all simply stared at it in satisfaction for a moment before they affixed it back to its holder for more torture. Front row was a line of dedicated headbanging disciples receiving the gospel.
We can feel the tender age in bloom of Spring in the air. We hope people emerge from the grips of winter ready to rock, because these bands are locked and loaded. Connect with them on social media below so you can be at their next show!
