San Francisco – Imagine this scene: exploding cymbals and a thumping kick, the drummer mashing out a thudding half-time beat, chunky guitar chords clanging alongside towering synth lines and bandleader Emily Whitehurst looking like a Roman empress in her ivory dress belting out the words to “One to One” while spraying the dense crowd with a T. Rex-shaped bubble machine. Got that? Good, because that image sums up the sound and attitude of Survival Guide perfectly: dark melodies mixed with sometimes morose lyrics yet still containing certain lighthearted elements, some sonic silver linings always skirting around the sharp edges of their distinct pop/rock sound.
Survival Guide kicked off their roughly forty-five minute set at the Neck of the Woods in San Francisco with “January Shock,” the scorching single off their strong debut LP Way To Go. The setlist was dominated by material from the album because, after all, this was the official record release show, and the stuff sounded even bigger, fuller, and sometimes, more haunting in the live setting. Tubeway Army-like creeper “Prohibition” was a perfect example of that, with the live drum sound accentuating those snare hits with snapping force and Emily singing through a landline telephone, sounding like a weary seductress, emphasizing the calm despair in the words. Synth-driven “Nowhere Anywhere” was all sweat and chant-along chorus, bringing the crowd the closest it would get to a mosh pit that night. Even the more subdued, understated electro ballad “Shrouded in Steel” exuded enough energy to keep the audience moving and the inflatable beach balls flying overhead.
It was a great set, and not just because the shots of Jamison provided by opener DJ Stefan Aronson were still coursing through my body.
Sacramento-based electronic/pop/trip-hop outfit Young Aundee proved an effective second act with their unique blurring of genre lines that reflected some of the qualities present in Survival Guide. Like the headliners, Young Aundee thrived on a blend of the menacing and melodic with crushing beats sometimes crashing through what you at first assumed would just be a simple pop song. The name is a moniker for songwriter Andrew James Southard, and the band supporting him was tight for the most part but loose during their more psychedelic moments. It was trippy, electro-dance music, a rush for both the body and mind.
Hopefully Survival Guide will be able to take this act on the road soon, allowing more than just the Bay Area to experience this suitably surreal balance of light and darkness. As long as they bring the T. Rex, I’m sure they’ll do just fine.
The debut Survival Guide album Way To Go is available to purchase now through various formats and a summer tour to support the LP is currently in the works.
Nick Schneider
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