Presented by One Barrell Brewing
Doors: 7:00pm / Show: 8:00pm
$15
Disq
With their debut album Collector, the Wisconsin-bred alternative rock outfit DISQ seemed to have everything required to take the world by storm. They had the full support of revered veteran indie label Saddle Creek. They’d received favorable notices from outlets such as the NME, the Guardian, and Stereogum. They had an energetic live show which was sure to convert a sea of devotees, and an international tour booked to prove it. Most crucially, they had an album of winning and memorable rock songs, polished to a fine sheen by legendary producer Rob Schnapf. You could not fault these five fresh-faced youngsters for betting it all, but their big mistake was one that no musician could have seen coming : their release date, March 6th, 2020. Within days, the world Disq was poised to conquer ceased to exist.
Undaunted by a storm of misfortunate which would have crushed a lesser band, Disq now returns to take what is rightfully theirs, with their sophomore effort Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet, a record which reaffirms the charms of Collector while pushing the sound and dynamic of the band in exciting and unexpected new directions. Rather than splintering and surrendering to their cursed circumstance, Disq has emerged a stronger band, more daring and more defiant, ready to finish the job. It is fitting that the clever backronym effectively makes this the band’s self-titled album, as it introduces the public to a new Disq, a band both seasoned by experience and newly invigorated toward vivid new heights.
Though initially formed as an extension of the lifelong friendship between guitarist Isaac DeBroux-Slone and bassist Raina Bock, Disq has evolved into a far more democratic and egalitarian organization, as Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet finds guitarists Logan Severson and Shannon Conor splitting singing and songwriting duties with the aforementioned DeBroux-Slone and Bock. Such an approach could have easily fallen into the trap of “satisfying everyone, pleasing no one,” resulting in committee-approved music devoid of any personality or rough edges, but happily, the opposite is true.
Graham Hunt
If you know how to work the angles, you can fit a lot into the container of a three- or four-minute pop song. Graham Hunt understands this. Since he was a teenager, he’s been working at perfecting the form, writing songs that get to the heart of what makes Midwestern guitar pop so essential, and doing it while sidestepping any of the dead-end creative moves that weigh down many in the genre.
Nowhere is this balancing act as clear as on the Madison-based artist’s new LP, Try Not To Laugh. It’s a record where breakbeats coexist with anthemic choruses and synth runs go toe-to-toe with acoustic guitars. From start to finish, the song stays at the forefront. It’s been the throughline for Hunt, who has played in street punk bands and power pop bands and hardcore bands and the underrated Midnight Reruns, who pushed a distinctively Upper Heartland kind of songcraft, one that led to opening slots for The Replacements and a diehard following of Wisconsin alcoholics.