Friday , March 29 2024
Some of Charlotte's finest indie rockers!

Music Review: Grown Up Avenger Stuff – Alive

Grown Up Avenger Stuff describes themselves as “your friendly neighborhood band with superpowers” and these nerdy rockers are definitely just that. From poignant ballads to heavy rock anthems, Grown Up Avenger Stuff has made fans sweat, scream, dance, sing and shout since 2009.

The band consists of brothers Tyler, Hunter, and John Thomsen and lead singer Deirdre Kroener. The Charlotte-based indie alt rockers are similar to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Queens of the Stone Age, Dead Sara, Florence and the Machine, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. They have played multiple festivals, including the Asheville-based Bele Chere, Edmonton-based Fort Sask Festival, Charlotte-based Femme Fest, South Carolina Strawberry Festival, Charlotte-based Live Out Loud Music Festival, Alberta Beach Canada Day Festival, Girl Power Fest, and Gaston Homegrown Music Fest. In 2010, Creative Loafing Charlotte also awarded them the with the “Best Female Vocalist” award.

Their self-produced album, Alive, was released on August 10, 2012. Deirdre Kroener’s vocals are incredibly haunting. Overall, the album is very powerful and everything fits together very well. It’s very easy to get lost in the band’s energy when listening to this album.

The lyrics to their track “Perfect” definitely have a nerdy, science fiction influence that is almost mechanical.The first few bars of the track definitely showcase the drums. Everything else tends to follow suit resulting in visions of steampunk nerdcore heaven, featuring lines like “All I have to say is this machine will make you perfect/There’s a price to pay but, baby it’s so worth it”. While the lyrics are fairly simple, it works with the complexities of the piece very well.

“Morning Noon and Night” is definitely the most energetic of their tracks and Kroener’s vocals are showcased very well here. In all honesty, it reminds me of a superhero movie’s opening track. It’s an incredibly powerful track and, like most of the tracks on Alive, it begins with the drums taking the reigns in the first few bars of the track. The lyrics in this track are definitely much more complex than in the other tracks.

Be sure to follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook. You can also click here to check out their Bandcamp page. If you are interested in seeing them live, here is a list of their tour dates. Be sure to check them out!

About Kate Derringer Barclay

Kate Derringer Barclay is the pseudonym of a freelance writer and blogger. Kate Derringer Barclay is also working on her first book.

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