By Chris Bryson
On Friday, September 22 Solhounds headlined a show at the Good Will to an eager group of rockin’ fans, and Stylus was there to check it out.Solhounds opened the show with the hard militaristic punch of “Stay”. Before moving on to the slow rumbling groove of “I’m Sick”.
The third song of the night, “Icebox”, boasted singer Elise Roller’s spitfire vocals, gnarly guitar, and a swaggering boss groove, warping and weaving around it all.
“Hey Pretty” followed with Roller opening the song, exclaiming, “this song is about fuck buddies,” before busting into a burly and bustling gut punch groove, sweat and swagger written all over it.
“Runaway” whorls with slithering psychedelic guitar and transitioned with a krautrock-like grind into one of the show standouts, “Guts”, with its instrumentals that hit with martial punch, vocals that spit flames, and searing spiral hooks.
“Soul Taker” found Roller with gravelly vocals, seemingly at her most emphatic, and was followed up by a hard-fisted rendition of Audioslave’s “Cochise”.
“Be A Man” had Roller in a high snarl, with guitar swirling around a bristling and distorted rubbery bass groove. The drums and bass feeling like they’re punching up from beneath the floor.
The final song of the night before heading into the encores was “Body Bandit”, with trickle and swirl down guitar, tumbling drums and Roller’s ominous wail soaring somewhere in a vibrant mix of fraught passion and frenzied despair.
The first encore was another one of the night’s standout songs, with its Queens of the Stone Age-like string squeals, “Tulips” hit hard.
Second encore and another night standout “Easy Come” was bursting with energy, cascading grooves in headbanger bliss, all scorched earth and seared riffs.
The final encore of the night was a sparse, militaristic, spiraling and pummeling rendition of Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor”. The guitar hooks rang with soulful force, heavy in its pulsing momentum, and Roller, with seemingly more conviction than ever, singing “I’m a survivor, I …”
Solhounds play so you can feel the bass kick in your ribcage, in the best way. The band plays with immediacy and a relentless spirit. Solhounds play with fire. When the band ring in unison, their heft in sound can be felt, and they’ll keep you moving.
Solhounds next performance will be opening for Sam Coffey & The Iron Lungs at the Handsome Daughter on October 8.