Cuckoo Chaos Gets Down At The Satellite

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There are some bands that you just have to see live to fully appreciate, and on Saturday night I found out that Cuckoo Chaos is one of those bands. The San Diego-based quintet has been on tour with Los Angeles up-and-comers Incan Abraham, and this weekend marked Incan Abe’s homecoming and the last show on the road for Cuckoo Chaos before returning to the studio to record its sophomore album.

Because the band is currently working on new material, it gave The Satellite a treat during its set and played some new songs that haven’t even been given proper names yet. After the second of three untitled tracks, guitarist/vocalist Scott Wheeler told the audience, “That was a new one. Actually, a lot of these are new ones,” and laughed. “Joke’s on you. You don’t know any of these songs!” This playful banter continued through the duration of the psychedelic indie rockers’ set, peculiarly offsetting the musicians’ focus and preciseness as they delved into complex, heavy songs.

The stage was riddled with effect pedals, and each of the three guitarists carefully adjusted his settings for every song. In addition to this intricate setup, the drummer’s kit was modified to home a drum pad, and one of the guitarists spent half of his time pounding his own drum pad as well. The result of this electronic element was a primal, tribal rhythm to each of the songs, which set an eerie, dark mood for the music as a whole. However, one of the seven songs on Cuckoo Chaos’ set list shined through the thick soundscape that had accumulated, and that was “Super Skeleton,” the A-side of a 7” the band released last fall.

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The buoyant guitar riffs and tropical rhythm of this song were a nice, refreshing break from the hazy, atmospheric songs that came before it. Wheeler’s vocals, though still heavy on the reverb, were a little more inflected as the band clapped in rhythm with the melody, and guitarist Jackson Milgaten’s harmonies added another dimension of pop sensibility to the already catchy track. But even though this particular track was the crowd favorite, the complexity of the new material is not something to disregard. Full of passion and density and lots of loops, it’s going to be exciting to hear what the forthcoming album sounds like. Cuckoo Chaos is currently in the studio and should be ready to release its new album this summer.

Photos by Katrina Nattress

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