I was at Subterranean on Thursday night, Nov. 8, to see an early, all-ages show by King Tuff, but when I walked into the place, I was struck by the instantly catchy sounds coming from the opening band, Gap Dream. “Who’s that?” you are probably asking. That’s what I was asking, too. It turns out they’re a rock group from Cleveland; the CMJ website describes their music as “Psychedelic surf pop from the southern shores of Lake Erie.” I’m not sure about the surf part, but it certainly was psychedelic, like a trippy version of the Byrds, with lots of chiming, ’60-style guitar lines and strong vocal melodies and harmonizing. I liked Gap Dream enough that I went to the merch table and bought their self-titled debut LP. You can hear it and/or buy it on bandcamp.
And then it was time for King Tuff, a rocker on the Sub Pop label with a recent self-titled record that’s jam-packed with catchy tunes. King Tuff’s tunes are unabashed homages to an earlier era of hard-rock hits. Although King Tuff seemed very much like a full-fledged band during the Subterranean gig, the band is essentially one dude, Kyle Thomas, who’s also played in the stoner-rock band Witch and the Vermont collective Feathers. Some of that stoner attitude comes through on the harder-edged King Tuff riffs, but for the most part, King Tuff is all about fun songs with memorable hooks. And that came through loud and clear during Thursday’s gig. The show ended early, which gave me time to hit another concert. More on that shortly…
