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Jen Cray
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Timelost at Will's Pub
THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
Timelost, Witchbender and Sad Halen at Will’s Pub, Feb. 10
The latest effort by local promoter
Endoxa Booking to break interesting new acts in Orlando was
Timelost, a shoegaze band with metal cred. No longer just a long-distance file-sharing side project, Timelost is the creative child of Shane Handal (from St. Pete heavy post-rock titans
Set and Setting) and Grzesiek Czapla (from Philadelphia black-metal band
Woe) that’s now a full-fledged band unto itself and touring in support of a strong debut album (
Don’t Remember Me for This) released just last autumn.
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Jen Cray
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Timelost at Will's Pub
The thought of
shoegaze in the hands of practitioners of such
heavy-music pedigree makes for a prospect so exciting that anything short of sheer sonic thrill would be an automatic letdown. Well, Timelost delivered like a hurricane. Not exactly a surprise for guys who come from Set and Setting – a band whose live show I once said was like a military helicopter touching down in your living room – but still a whopping live feat.
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Jen Cray
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Timelost at Will's Pub
click to enlarge
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Jen Cray
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Timelost at Will's Pub
Performing as a full quartet, Timelost operate on the rock end of the shoegaze spectrum closer to 1990s kings
Swervedriver and
Hum. Although they weave some lovely songs with all the requisite wool, they’re less about dreamy drifting than they are about
heavy rock propulsion, even dropping in some occasional double kick-drum thunder (See? Metal.). It’s a sound that’s gigantic but not ponderous, a marvel of texture and force. And experiencing them live is the wuthering swoon that happens when gorgeous songs come at you with punishing volume.
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Jen Cray
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Witchbender at Will's Pub
Despite being a couple of the best bands in Orlando right now, support acts
Witchbender and
Sad Halen are also two of the most underrated, seemingly appreciated mostly by the scene cognoscenti. At any rate, they continue to impress.
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Jen Cray
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Witchbender at Will's Pub
Freaky noise punks Witchbender came with throttle wide open like usual with little regard to genre or manners. And Sad Halen went full fuzz and groan with their plush guitar attack, and they finally have a hot new EP (
Frens) available for free right now on
Bandcamp. Do not sleep on either of these two bands.
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Jen Cray
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Sad Halen at Will's Pub
click to enlarge
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Jen Cray
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Sad Halen at Will's Pub
Follow Bao on Twitter (@baolehuu)
Email Bao: baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com