[DID NOT ATTEND: November 6, 2026] Deux Visages / Chemical / KulfiGirls / Charmspeak
I recently saw both Deux Visages and KulfiGirls open for The Linda Lindas. I loved both of their sets wand would have loved to go to this album release show.
But we were in Sweden, so, not a possibility.
I hadn’t heard of Chemical, but this review from YellowGreenRed is pretty funny:
Chemical, a newly-homegrown act of whom little was publicized. Of all the contemporary band-naming conventions, I think I prefer the ungoogleable-due-to-ubiquity route to quirky misspellings or stylized alternate text. No need to be Chemi_kul, or ¢hm¢l, you know? “Chemical” is so droll and commonplace as to be functionally useless, like calling yourself Band.
Chemical’s bio on the Johnny Brenda’s site was, in its entirety, “devotional philadelphia insurgence group [sic]”, almost as meaningless as the band name, though it ensured that the few people who actually read opening-band descriptions on the club’s ticketing page could expect an aloof mystique.
Ready to accept whatever style of music this intriguing group had to offer, I found myself pulled into their vibe right off the bat. Theirs is an arty and morose post-grunge style, and alongside their stern on-stage presentation, I’m guessing that they’re fans of the Julia’s War label and its roster’s opaque, left-field interpretations of today’s prevailing shoegaze / dream-pop trends. Their opening tune bore the subdued threat of violence I hear in Her New Knife; both groups seem to reinterpret Sonic Youth’s moody discordance with an added blackened sense of doom. I would’ve been content with variations on that basic template, but Chemical clearly had a number of musical ideas at work, the guitarist chopping it up Gang Of Four style, shimmering like Billy Corgan in a silver tuxedo and meekly picking at chorus-washed strings like some petrified ’90s goth, sometimes all in the same song, his feet (white athletic socks with velcro Teva sandals) tapping at a finicky chain of pedals. He brought three guitars on stage and admirably used them all in their brief opening set. For as much as I admired his style, the drummer was noticeably cool too, tall and Ramones-y and hunched over in dark sunglasses, though the bassist (also in dark sunglasses) may have been my favorite of the three, confidently delivering her own unusual bass-lines that didn’t replicate the guitar’s melodies so much as dance around them. There was one song in particular where her bass-line was so busy that it seemed to loop beyond the 4/4 timing of the song; I hope to hear it again on their debut EP. They had CDs for sale ahead of the official Bandcamp release date, which in true Y2K-throwback fashion were packaged in clear jewel cases with the name stamped on the CD, ready to be tossed on the passenger-side floor of your boyfriend’s Honda Civic next to back issues of Transworld SKATEboarding and the remnants of last night’s Taco Bell. I’m gonna go pull up the Bandcamp now!
Very intriguing. And their music is certainly abrasive but it is also weirdly compelling–the nearly whispered vocals draw you in.
Charmspeak draws on inspiration from the indie rock, alternative, and jazz scenes here in Philly and around the world. What began as a recording project quickly developed into a dynamic live act featuring Abbe Charernsook on vocals, Mason Kunttu on guitar, Dan Goldberg on drums, and Max Fabiszewski on bass.
They are the most mellow of the four bands and don’t exactly fit in, although they probably have a bit of tie with Deux Visages softer side. Although I do hear a jazzy saxophone which I’m not too fond of.
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