If you’re at all familiar with Grave Babies, lead singer Danny Wahlfel’s recent response to a question from IntoTheWoods.tv about song meaning might not be all that shocking—

“They’re pretty much just all about depression and nihilism. A lot of nihilism going on.”

That’s fair, considering the aesthetics of a band that’s LP (Crusher, released this year on Hardly Art) depicts what looks like a ritual pig sacrifice and features songs like “Slaughter,” “Pain Cycle” and “Hate Repeats.” Even the group’s name can’t help but connote some kind of death-begins-at-birth philosophy.

Still, as the three members of Grave Babies carefully set up their lights, gear and checked their sound last Friday night at Record Room, it was hard to imagine this performance being either devoid of artistic forethought, or any semblance of ’70s era “no future” nihilism—the kind replete with trashed gear and blood-stained stages.

The crowd inside Record Room was modest, but everybody was engaged, with beer in hand, as Wahlfel began forcing the groaning chords of “Prostitution” from his guitar.  The performance area was small, tucked into the front corner of the room and against CD and cassette racks that lined the shop wall. Because the stage was limited, only the drummer could set up there, forcing the keyboard player and Wahlfel to stand on the floor nearly face to face with the audience. But once the band broke into the off-kilter march of “Hate Repeats”, the finite space made Wahlfel’s commanding bellow that much more potent.

Between songs Grave Babies would let their guitar and effects distort, drone and delay into the next track. This didn’t allow much room for the crowd to understand what Wahlfel said before each song—other than the occasional “Thanks”— but it didn’t matter. The group knew how to balance the dissonant and harmonious edges of their sound, which may be why they have been pinned as having grunge, post-punk and metal influences alike.

At the end of their near-30 minute set, the group brought out Crusher single “Over and Under”. The track, like most of Grave Babies catalogue, was mucky as hell, with drummer Keith Whiteman’s driving slams on the snare and kick drum, and Wahlfel’s booming vocals over thrashed shoe-gaze guitar. But, it’s the kind of existential muck you want flung into your ear again and again. Through it all there’s an addictive thread of hope betraying the Grave Babies’ apocalyptic soundtrack.

After finishing the song to applause from the crowd, Wahlfel had one question before the group unplugged: “We didn’t short change you did we?”

Photos by Becky Kuhn

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