When I went to The Sewing Room this week to see Big Eater on tour from New York City, I did not expect to stumble across the sonic brilliance of Pop Weirdos. Beginning on usual punk time, forty minutes after the originally planned start, Pop Weirdos filled the venue with their mystically serene, tandem vocals complemented by their pleasant guitar and keys performances. The duo, which features other performers on many of their recorded material, is the product of Bennett Kane and Jamison Murphy. Bennett Kane, the tenor between the two, provides lead vocals and extremely catchy "bum's" and "ba-da's" throughout a lot of their work. Murphy, whose vocals resemble that of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie, stands out as the refreshing origin of Pop Weirdos' sound. The two combined weave intricate vocal lines in and around each other to tell stories and convey extremely poignant emotion.
Stories like the one in their "cowboy song" entitled 'Monterrey' tell of Kane's family's lack of vacation as he was growing up. The melodies between Kane, the dad, and Murphy, the mom, speak to Kane's dad often shooting down vacation ideas as his mother would always suggest newer ventures. The sweet tag line, "but if you wanna go, don'cha know, I would love to go with you", introduces the Mini-Korg's complement to the Western-style guitar riff played by Murphy and ends the song's thesis. The personal sentiment in this track emphasizes exactly what I like so much about Pop Weirdos' music, a grounded look at daily life.
Diversity in their own consistency is what Pop Weirdos do best. Listening to their discography on Bandcamp was such a pleasure because they offer new turns at similar songwriting structures. Whether it be a new guitar tone, synth line, or another infectiously catchy vocal riff like that at the end of 'Theory Wars', Pop Weirdos know how to write good pop music, stuck to my head like rubber cement. A chorus like that on 'Alcudia' can be running through my mind for weeks. The vocals are like something that would come off of a Tennis album, instantly transporting me to a picturesque beach and its vast expanse of clear waters.
The Sewing Room at 1614 Hazelrig Dr SE fell completely silent to the wondrous sound Kane and Murphy create. The crowd's investment every time the room fell silent or Kane decided to explain his thought processes was tangible. Pop Weirdos continually engaged their audience during the show, asking their listeners to clap along as they sat. Pop Weirdos even went so far as to print out lyric sheets so that the audience could sing along. I could tell their music meant a lot to them as they were out back of the venue not smoking or mindlessly socializing, but practicing. I could not have enjoyed an underground show as much as I did that night watching their music actualize. If only they had had merchandise outside the performance space.
Check out Pop Weirdos' music here:
http://popweirdos.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/Pop-Weirdos-6950963339447...
Pop Weirdos will be playing a set at The Mammal Gallery on 11SEP16.
