Some bands listed below may not totally be punk, but they still play some furious riffs on stage. Here are some punks and other guitar heads playing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Japandroids (Friday)
Genre: Rock
Choice Song: “The House That Heaven Built”
Forget Drake, Japandroids is the real band carrying “YOLO” as its spirit. The Vancouver two-piece has the anthems ready to be sung for the glory days. Japandroids turn fading youth or life’s ups and downs into songs of incredible celebration inspiring listeners to reach fists to the heavens. The band’s appropriately titled second album “Celebration Rock” is full of songs to rock out for that last hurrah. Its standout track “The House That Heaven Built” sums up the Japandroids’ energy down to its crowd-pleasing, anthem-like chants. Choose Japandroids as the band to end your Friday night with a triumphant bang.
Grinderman (Friday)
Genre: Rock
Choice Song: “No Pussy Blues”
Eventually, rock stars end up aging into geezers. Well, except for Nick Cave. The Australian rock veteran successfully channels the agony of aging into his blues. For Grinderman, Cave’s side project with members from his band The Bad Seeds, Cave gets more aggressive as he rocks his midlife lust and unsatisfied libido into a furious flame. Although there are only two albums released by the Grinderman moniker, the band has an excellent set of reckless rock with a star presence. The band’s most notable song is “No Pussy Blues,” a wild tune where Cave grows desperate for female affection. Throughout the track, his guitar squeals out his frustrations. Take a walk on the wild side with Cave and jam out to some Grinderman on Friday night.
Trash Talk (Saturday)
Genre: Hard-core Punk
Choice Song: “Awake”
The two minutes of street anarchy featured on the music video for “Awake” should leave a good impression of Trash Talk’s music. The band hammers grinding riffs with no remorse while its speediness drives the chaos immediately. The band’s EPs and full-lengths follow a hard-core tradition of short and direct songs designed to wreak havoc. Although hard-core punk such as Trash Talk may be more suitable for smaller venues, the band has worked its ruckus for bigger environments very effectively during its recent festival appearances. Check out Trash Talk’s episode of music on Pitchfork’s “+1” series to preview the band.
