I was there just to show out for the homies. It's important to support the scene. And at The Middle East in Cambridge, Massachusetts—just 10 mins from where I sleep—had little excuse not to. Arriving with no expectations, just love. Luckily for me, all my friends are talented, and this particular night, they surprised me by just how much so.
When Louzy hit the stage I was happy to see familiar faces. Pat Quinn on drums (Sophisticated Adult, Buried Dreams), Garrett Ripley on bass (Sophisticated Adult, Haywire, Jackal, etc.) and Ryan Lynch on vocals, all staples of the scene. Garrett is known widely for his membership in seemingly every Boston hardcore band and his complete disregard for the human need to sleep.
The sound is more of a light-hearted punk rock than I am accustomed to. I say this through with no intention of sounding pejorative. It’s fun with bouncy bass lines you can dance or mosh too. There are times too for gentle melodic swaying like that in track “Coke”—for catching your breath between crowdkills.
Standing before them I was shocked when Ryan opened his mouth to sing. What a movingly beautiful voice. I had to write about it. I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Following their set, as I approached to congratulate them on a gig well played, another spectator beat me to it by seconds, “I love your voice dude,” Ryan shortly laughed and replied that the alluring strained vibrato of it had something to do with cigarettes.
Hailing from Massachusetts the band says of their locality “I want to shout out the entire central MA/NH/VT punk/hardcore scene as a whole. This band would be nothing without the continuous support of the New England scene.”
He continues: “We, as a whole, have built a beautiful community of talented bands, artists and friends that continues to grow. It’s awesome.”
When I asked after the content of their lyrics, Ryan told me, “All the songs are experiences I’ve had in life and not really good ones (hence the name of the band), but that is the reality of things. Life gets shitty and that is cool. We celebrate those bad times," a supremely New England take.
Louzy play often around the Northeast circuit with legendary line-ups at each and every gig. Follow them on The Gram for show and music updates. See you in the pit.
Tagged: louzy
