Performance Date: May 24th, 2019
Venue: Spade Lounge
Photo taken by Justin Silverstein. (@_j.stein_ on Instagram)
Spade Lounge, owned by Lords of Spade, was a small warehouse in which seven bands performed yesterday, Friday, May 24th. I went to this show for PJ Aviles, another artist performing, but stayed to watch some of the others. One of these bands included Lords of Spade.
Lords of Spade opened with a quick mic check by their lead singer, Alexandra Engler, who loudly vocalized a heavy riff that took the audience by surprise. The band then proceeded to perform their set. At first, Lords of Spade seemed like your typical metalcore band — they have the sound, the energy, the minimal set and dark lighting, and of course, the standard set up: a fast-paced guitarist, a focused bassist, a passionate drummer, and, of course, a high-energy soloist.
While some artists may express their personality by passively pouring their soul into a mic stand, others like to put on a show. Engler, the lead singer of Lords of Spade, did not hold back last night. By the way she owns the stage and moves about, you can tell she is confident in and passionate about the music she creates, and she personally enjoys it. It’s a great experience when you’re watching a band have fun on stage, because that energy transfers to the audience, and vice versa. The relationship between the crowd and the band are tightly linked and rely on each other to thrive. In this case, the audience wasn’t high-energy until this performance started. Everyone in the room was jamming. Engler’s voice is along the lines of an acquired taste, at first, it’s jarring, but after the first song, you begin to admire the unique sound she produces. The only downside was that I couldn’t understand a word she was singing, even though there was a mic test before their set. Because of her unique voice, you already have to put in some effort to understand lyrics, but the rest of the band overpowered her, volume-wise, and it was quite hard to understand most of the songs performed, which was disappointing.
As a band, Lords of Spade is in-sync and consistent. Their sound is somewhat alarming, but instead of scaring you, it entices you, and I think that’s what they are going for. It is evil-sounding in a sense, but it draws you to want to hear more. Before one of their songs, lead singer Alexandra Engler described the feeling of rushing back to your bedroom after going to your kitchen in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. They then began to play said song, and it definitely portrayed that little fear that builds in your stomach in that specific situation. I highly appreciate the little explanation. I personally feel as though it added depth to the song, a little meaning, and really set the vibe. During that specific song, I had a visceral reaction — my body had vicious chills and I felt my stomach knotting up — but I’m glad I reacted the way I did, because that was the point. The song had a chill factor, an element of fear, and it was purposely written, and explained, to create that effect on listeners.
Overall, I would say Lords of Spade’s performance last night deserves a 3.5 out of 5. It was pretty good, their sound’s theming and consistency was definitely accurate, you can totally jam to their music if metalcore is your vibe, they’re great to watch live, and they radiate high energy, but in this performance specifically, it was hard to understand and audibly overpowering.
Lords of Spade has not yet released their music on any streaming platforms, but they intend to do so within the week, so go give them a follow on social media to stay updated, and support your local bands!
LORDS OF SPADE
Instagram: @lordsofspade
MARY GONZALEZ
Instagram: @maryegonz
Twitter: @maryegonz
N O I Z 