I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: November 29, 2023] Touché Amoré

Touché Amoré (what a fun name to say) have been on my radar for a little over a year.  I assumed they were a dance band, not a punk band.  But indeed. They punk.

And they punk hard.

The band came out and started right in with a big, clean sound and singer Jeremy Bolm screaming the lyrics.  The best thing about his screaming is that it is intense like old school punk, but it is completely clear.

I loved that for every verse or chorus he put the mic out for the audience to sing the last word or phrase. And they did.  There was a huge Touché Amoré fanbase there.  [There was a gross couple in front of me who had hands all over each other who, thankfully, left after the band was done].

At first I thought they were “just” a screaming punk band.  But I quickly got totally into them.  I loved the sound of the band–not too complicated but every song has something interesting going on in it.  Drummer Elliot Babin is a maniac behind the kit.  And I loved that you could hear both guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt very clearly (Nick Steinhardt was on the far side of the stage, so I couldn’t see him very well, but I could clearly see his sparkly shirt).  And bassist Tyler Kirby would punctuate songs with excellent thumping bass.

But it was the lyrics that constantly impressed me.  I couldn’t understand them all obviously, but the ones I did were impressive.

The opening lyrics he sang were from “Just Exist.”

I was once asked how I’d like to be remembered
And I simply smiled and said “I’d rather stay forever”
It was possibly my loudest cliché
But felt better than just walking away

This great couple of lines from “Feign:

I say the wrong thing at the perfect time
That’s my signature on the silver line

….
Do I die a little less often
When I feign profound?

On the interestingly titled “~”

I got my hands behind my back
With two fingers overlapped
Because I can never keep my word
And I share with the undeserved
For some cheap acceptance in return
…..
If actions speak louder than words
I’m the most deafening noise you’ve heard
I’ll be that ringing in your ears
That will stick around for years

None of the songs were long “~” and “Pathfinder” were just over a minute, but even the shortest songs were impactful.  Some of the songs had backing vocals–the whole band chanting “sore, sore, sore” on “Limelight.”  And the whole band singing the insanely catchy, sad, and uplifting punk anthem “Reminders”

I need reminders of the love I have
I need reminders, good or bad
I tilt my chin up in photographs
A subtle way to reinvent the past

I was wholly on board for this band and am looking forward to them coming back.

Interestingly, he said that the last time they played the TLA (back in 2018), there was a guy in the front row staring at him with like a death stare–an image that he hasn’t forgotten and always associated with the venue.  He was happy to have supplanted that one with this good experience.  People were even crowd surfing for them.

When he announced they had just two songs left I was bummed.  They played “Non Fiction” a slow song with a interesting bassline and pretty guitars.  It has an intense vocal part at the very end.  And they ended with “Flowers for You” from the album Stage 4 which was written about and for Jeremy Bolm’s mother, who died of cancer, and Bolm’s grief at how he handled it.

I didn’t know these lyrics before the song, but wow, i didn’t realize how emotional this band is.

I’m homesick and living in the past
Seemingly unfazed and strong if anyone asks
I’m keeping up appearances with white lies
With a levee set for my heavy eyes

Clearly it’s their passion that won me over immediately.  I do hope to see them again.

1. Just Exist ∇
2. New Halloween ¼
3. Feign ♥
4. Come Heroine ♥
5. DNA ∇
6. Amends ≅
7. Is Survived By ∇
8. Limelight ♥
9. ~ ≅
10. Pathfinder ≅
11. Rapture ¼
12. Reminders ♥
13. Non Fiction ∇
14. Flowers and You ¼

∇ Is Survived By (2013)
♥ Lament (2020)
≅ Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me (2011)
¼ Stage Four (2016)

For ease of searching I include: Touche Amore