Harm Retreat at Twilight Cafe and Bar
Twilight Cafe is a loud venue, and I think that’s a good thing. Rock and punk and metal shine here, but the room is pretty minimally treated, so harsh frequencies are amplified and can cause quite a headache if the band has no control of their tone. A sound guy—even the best sound guy—cannot help a poorly rehearsed band in this space. I often forget to put ear plugs in my pocket when I leave my house—if I’m heading to a show at the Twilight, I do not. Why is this relevant? Because Harm Retreat is a loud band. But, damn, they sounded great. Probably too good to open a show at 8:00 pm on a Saturday
Someone mentioned that Harm Retreat sounded like a metal version of Paramore, and now, I can’t get that out of my head. Imagine taking Hayley Williams, dropping her voice an octave, and adding Neil Peart on drums, and you’d probably be imagining a sound somewhat close to Harm Retreat. Now, add a flute. (Right?)
Their musicianship was topnotch. They didn’t miss a beat or a note for their whole 30 minute set. I was particularly impressed with the drumming. The drummer set up a rack with enough toms to rival any modern prog band—all that was missing was the gong hung behind his back. With the setup I saw, I expected noodly fills and rampant overplaying, but to my pleasant surprise, it was tasteful, locked in, and perfect for the genre.
The lead guitarist was a shredder. The rhythm section was tight. The instrumental breaks were entertaining enough to afford the lead singer a moment to exit the stage and take a breather. That move wouldn’t work for just any band, but they made it look natural. No one questioned where the singer was going, but rather looked forward to the oncoming interlude.
Any former emo/alt/pop-punk millennial can definitely find comfort in their modern prog/pop/ metal… Fuck, are ya’ll sick of genre talk? I am. Do you like rock? Yes? You might like Harm Retreat. They’re good. They’re loud. They’re talented. Check them out.
