Che Café was packed to the brim with flannel shirts, dagger-sharp winged eyeliner and the ever-ubiquitous dad hats on Oct. 10 as U.K. band Basement played a high-octane set to an enthusiastic crowd. Supported by California bands Elder Brother and Pllush, Basement played a sold-out show just two days ahead of the release of the band’s new album, “Beside Myself.”
The night was notably pop-punk; in attendance was Ben Russin, drummer for the band Title Fight, who worked the Basement merchandise table, and Luke Granered, formerly of Better Off, filling in as guitarist for Elder Brother.
Basement opened the set with the new single “Disconnect” to a lukewarm response. It wasn’t until the band broke out a fan favorite, “Fading,” that the crowd erupted into a cacophony of moshing, crowd surfing, and passionate collective singing. The rest of the evening was energetic and sweaty.
Basement’s sound is reminiscent of early grunge acts. Above a wall of distorted guitars, chunky basslines, and pounding drums, the lyrics are soaked in self-loathing and simmer with angst. This was perhaps most evident during the band’s song “Pine,” when a good bulk of the crowd screamed the lyrics, “I hate myself, and that’s OK,” back at vocalist Andrew Fischer in a near-perfect unison.
Others have compared Basements sound to “Jimmy Eat World” and “Nirvana,” but if you ask the mates in the band they would be more humble in their self-description. As guitarists Ronan Crix and Alex Henery explained their band’s identity, “We’re like ‘introspective rock-indie.’”
Crix stated plainly, “You come to our shows, you’re going to have a good time. You’re not going to see any smoke and mirrors, it’s just us playing rock-and-roll music.”
“Like four [of the five] of us play guitar so obviously a lot of our stuff will be very guitar-oriented,” Henery said.
The last time the band was out on the west coast, Basement was opening for “The Front Bottoms.” I asked the band members whether they felt more at home in high profile shows or more intimate settings like the Che.
“Being on support tours is pretty weird,” Crix pointed out, “because the crowd’s not necessarily there to see us.”
“In some ways I prefer it, because the sound is really good, we have more space to move around on stage and do what we do, and I kind of like being able to play for people who’ve never seen us before” Henery added. “I feel like we do a good mix of smaller shows like this, I don’t think Basement’s ever going to just play massive shows.”
In chatting with guitarists Crix and Henery about their new album, we discussed the writing process that led to its creation.
“It wasn’t anything too different, it was more a natural progression,” Henery explained. “We wanted to write the best Basement songs with the time given. We had so much support and so many resources from the label that we were able to explore more things.”
“I’ve noticed us grow into our sound so much more since the last record, just from recording and writing sessions leading up to this one,” Crix said.
“We feel pretty comfortable with our sound at this point, so we really started to focus on doing the best of what we do,” Henery explained. “There are moments in the record where we sort of deviate into new territory, but it’s nothing too dangerous. We all felt truly on the same page, going into the studio. I’m really excited for people to hear this record as a whole.”
Basement closed out its 13-song set with “Promise Everything,” the title track of its previous album. Standing at the beginning of its next artistic chapter, Basement’s choice for a closing song served as a subtle acknowledgement of where the band has been and where it’s going.
“Beside Myself” is available via Fueled by Ramen Records.
Venue: Che Café
Date: October 10 2018
Grade: B+
Image Courtesy of losangeles.ohmyrockness.com
