Acclaimed Post-Punk Outfit Plays New Songs At Independent
By Dave Pehling
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- One of the more celebrated modern bands to mine the dark, foreboding sounds of classic post-punk, Canadian outfit Preoccupations has established itself as a powerhouse act in the space of four short years. Rising from the ashes of star-crossed Calgary-based band Women (who had gone into a holding pattern after an onstage fight in 2010, two years before guitarist Christopher Reimer died suddenly in his sleep), bassist/singer Matt Flegel and drummer Mike Wallace formed a new quartet called Viet Cong with guitarists Scott Munro and Daniel Christiansen in 2012. Nodding heavily to the brooding music of goth forebears Bauhaus (whose song "Dark Entries" they covered), Joy Division and the Cure, Viet Cong quickly attracted attention given the members' pedigree.
The following year, the group self released a cassette (appropriately entitled Cassette) that soon stirred interest in a number of independent labels with its terse, guitar-driven tracks tracks like "Throw It Away" and "Structureless Design." A fiery set at South By Southwest in 2014 would lead to the group signing with Canadian label Flemish Eye and U.S. indie imprint Jagjaguwar.
In 2015, the band garnered still more acclaim with its self-titled debut and even got some airplay on college radio with the churning intensity of "Continental Drift." However, the group also started getting some unwanted attention because of its name. Criticized for being culturally insensitive, the band made headlines when a promoter pulled the plug on a planned gig at Oberlin College in Ohio because of the name. Viet Cong posted on its Facebook page a few months later that it would in fact change it's name to appease detractors. In April of this year, the group announced that it would switch its moniker to Preoccupations.
Issued last month, the outfit's eponymous debut under the new name earned the quartet another round of overwhelmingly positive reviews. Drifting away from the angular guitar riffs that had marked their earlier work, Preoccupations delved deeper into pulsing synthesizer drone and Eno-esque ambient soundscapes, especially on the dreamy, epic 11-minute track "Memory" featuring guest vocals from Dan Boeckner, the leader fellow Canadian contemporaries Wolf Parade.
After a busy summer playing festivals and touring with cinematic instrumental rockers Explosions in the Sky, Preoccupations returns to San Francisco for the first time since playing last year's Treasure Island Music Festival for this headlining show at the Independent. Reverb-soaked Australian alt-rock band Methyl Ethel warms up the crowd with songs from their debut effort Oh Human Spectacle.
Preoccupations
Saturday, October 29, 8:30 p.m. $15
The Independent
