October 18, 2015

Ad Hoc Car Wash



Although it wasn't an official CMJ showcase, Ad Hoc through a fantastic day party during the festival bringing together tons of great talent in a great pop-up venue.

Featuring a supremely solid line-up that covered the indie spectrum of punk, noise, dreamy, slowcore, and emo music, Ad Hoc pulled off a terrific party that had something for all music lovers on the menu. High flying guitar riffs from Sheer Mag, straight up indie rock of Protomartyr, emo vibes of Pity Sex, and the political gusto stomp and sax from Downtown Boys was only the beginning of the day. LVL UP took things on the slower side. Their standard indie-rock approach covered everything from Built to Spill to Codeine made with little effort. Porches had some technical difficulties getting things started, but their dreamier moods and synth style layers were a nice sonic shift. Their sound isn't radical in any ways, but rather leisurely along the lines of Real Estate. Perfect Pussy haven't been playing live recently and while their sound is never straight forward, audio problems seemed to plague their set. Meredith Graves is still a phenomenal leader with a truly commanding presence. Using her platform and time between songs, she made a stellar speech about the importance of Planned Parenthood before launching into the band's first new song in two years ("The Women") and receiving perhaps the highest praise of the day. Destruction Unit closed out the day with an absolutely face melting performance. Playing in the dark, the Arizona band brought their heated desert vibes to Brooklyn for a relentless and punishing set. Spaced out metal and psyched-punk brought out a rambunctious crowd, the wildest of the day, as the band droned away on stage. The five members look like a true force to be reckoned with and their music backs up their devious appearance.

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