Show Preview: Vertical Scratchers, Boogarins & Total Blam Blams
The Union
March 27, 2014
By Alexa Smith, Staff Writer
There are two different kinds of inherent talent: those who are signed to a label and those who are not. Whichever of the two is more talented is left for the audience to decide.
It’s not every day that bigger names find their way to a gig in Athens. We have our own beloved Blond, their pals in Speaking Suns and the funkadelic Uptowne Buddha, but pulling up to the Union on Friday in their van full of toys will be California ensemble Vertical Scratchers along with Brazil’s Boogarins and indie rock bit Total Blam Blams.
John Schmersal along with Christian Beaulieu make up the creative forces that are Vertical Scratchers. Named after the preferred way to please a cat, Schmersal and Beaulieu share a simplistic outlook on music, breaking the sound down to its bare bones, and playing raw, yet jangly rock.
Their sound is something of a puzzle. Solely the combination of drums and guitar with the soft-spoken falsettos whose appearance is not meant to be memorable, Schmersal plays his guitar in the fashion of vertical scratching in which the guitar playing is often louder than an amp, so much that it often doesn’t need one. While Schmersal is doing his thing, Beaulieu completes the nearly completed piece with “rhythmic accents that punctuate what is happening at that point in the song itself.”
Vertical Scratchers have recently initiated their east-to-west coast tour, and joining them on a few of these stops are psych-pop stompers Boogarins.
Benke Farraz and Fernando Almeida, high school pals from the Brazilian city of Goiânia, who started playing music in their parents’ basement, have become a rare success story. Having been recognized on Pitchfork and MTV Iggy for their exceptional music making and opening for remarkable acts like Tame Impala and Of Montreal, Boogarins have blossomed into the flower they were named for (Bogarim, a jasmine flower many say “smells like pure love”) and have become somewhat of a face for psychedelic Tropicalismo, all while still in their late teens.
Their style has a gentle beauty and a mysterious air. In the almost-whispered Portuguese lyrics, although one may not be able to translate them, the meaning is still interpretable through its delivery.
Boogarins recently released their debut album As Plantas Que Curam (meaning “Plants That Heal”) that shows great stylistic variety. The opening track “Lucifernandis” is a true up-tempo psychedelic pop piece. Then, in songs like “Erre” and “Eu Vou,” they throw out an eerie, mysterious tone. From the album, their sound varies greatly from sunny day tunes to a Wilcoesqe guitar to something entirely their own.
Come see for yourself. Doors open at 9 p.m., and the fun starts shorty after.
