Pygmy Lush

Photo by Ashley Sauers

Pygmy Lush, of Sterling, Virginia, is the band who has had the most impact on my life in the past few years. Seeing them in Santa Cruz on their tour in support of their first album, Bitter River, was one of the best sets I've ever experienced; it's rare for a musical performance to silence an entire crowd for the set's entirety. Made up of members from bands I thoroughly enjoyed in high school (Pg.99, City of Caterpillar, Malady), they've transcended their "screamo" band roots and developed into a band that poignantly highlights the difficulties of unwillingly entering adulthood. The themes of loneliness, dependancy, and imperfect interpersonal relations are addressed with an honest maturity that has been a great comfort to myself - knowing these feelings are shared by others, and then beautifully expressed in song is immensely reassuring. It's rare to find a band in which you can find so much of yourself embedded, and it's encouraging to retreat into this subjective reality when times are tough.

The music of Pygmy Lush is split in a strict dichotomy: "loud" and "soft", as I've seen it referred to. "Loud" consists of angry, harsh and noisy punk comparable to the Jesus Lizard fucking Born Against. The "soft" stuff falls into the realm of folk, using a greater variety of instrumentation than the typical rock band. A lot of it acoustic, but some of it electric; dreamy and reverb drenched. "Melancholy" is the best word to describe it, but some of the songs get to be pretty upbeat. Their first album, Bitter River, and their split with turboslut has a mix of both of these styles (some songs have both a "soft" and "loud" version!). Their second album, Mount Hope, is entirely "soft" material. Watch/Listen/Buy their music, go see them live, love them!

"soft" material "It's a good day to hide" Live at the Monolith (HD):