Last night Chop Suey hosted a three-way display of underground punk rock, offering a varied presentation of the incarnations in the genre. All of the performing bands were born and bred in Seattle; emerging out of the garage and onto the luminous Chop Suey stage.

Opening the night was Aurora Roarers, a thrash outfit that are exploring a relationship between psychedelic and punk. The garage band produced some intrinsic musicianship and moments of a cohesive musical build up; resolving into a budding promise for the future. The direction of the band, especially in their vocal structure, seems to need some cultivation – however the building blocks of an interesting psycho punk band are there.

Next on the bill were Kids on Fire, raising the tempo of the evening with a crash course in speed punk. Their presence and energy were more concentrated than that of Aurora Roarers, drawing a more intense than wild stage presence. Their song formations harkened heavily to 90’s surf punk, however with the notch turned way up.

The speed of Kids on Fire was relentless and taut without blowing out a fuse into monotony. While there is a lot of room for development in their compositional formula and musical basis of songwriting – the components of dynamism are acutely present in their efforts so far.

Wrapping up the event was The Screaming Starts providing tighter breakdowns, deeper riffs and abundant wild energy. Riding moments of trash southern rock gave way to toughened resolutions and well spaced time signature shifts. The four-piece ensemble produced a studied version of thrasher rock, immersed with vigor and sweat.

A quite notable feature of their song compositions was the method in which the intensity pushed the song forward. The built up tension was allowed to sustain without an unnecessary compulsion to resolve it. The continual riding sensation would only give way into a breakdown during hooks and brief apparitions in the songs.

The Screaming Starts are a young outfit that formed a mere two years ago. Attention has already been given to the new-comers, including multiple appearances on radio podcasts. It has been announced that a CD of theirs is due for release soon, however more information is unknown at this time.

The Auroras Roarers will be playing at the 2 Bit Saloon on October 21, for more information check here. The Screaming Starts are due to performing next at The Mirkwood on October 15, for more information check here.