Review: Bad Suns with From Indian Lakes

by Victoria Race

Last week, Sophie and I ventured out on a rainy night to see alt rockers Bad Suns headline a show at the Grog Shop. It had been a while since the band has last played in the area. We have seen the band perform several times in Cleveland at venues like the House of Blues and Grog Shop. Each time they return, their sound is better than the last. They have matured a lot since the first time Danielle and I went to one of their shows.

From Indian Lakes started off the night promptly with their softer music and atmospheric vibes. Their unique sound was great live and had the crowd glued in place throughout the 30 minute set. The band had an awesome neon sign that added to their indie, lo-fi aesthetic. They started out with tracks including “Feel Love” and “Fog.” Crowd favorites included “Blank Tapes,” “Am I Alive,” and “American Dream.”

Bad Suns is currently on their headlining North American tour in support of their sophomore album, Disappear Here, released this past September. The record has a total of 13 tracks and the band performed a significant portion of the record within the first half of their set. Tracks from Language and Perspective got more intense crowd reactions because of their familiarity but the crowd knew most if not all of the newer material.

The band opened their set with “Disappear Here” which was followed by “Patience.” The next track, “Even In My Dreams, I Can’t Win,” was a crowd favorite. This energy transferred right on over to an older track, “Dancing On Quicksand,” during which the whole crowd was dancing and singing along. Eventually, the band played “Transpose,” another older track from their debut album Language and Perspective. My personal favorite from the night was “Swimming In The Moonlight” with its swelling vocals and beat. Sophie and I stayed to see one of our favorites, “Off She Goes,” which had a cool “20 years” intro.

I found that frontman Christo Bowman’s vocals were really highlighted on certain tracks, much different from previous Cleveland shows. Overall, I though the band did an awesome job of promoting the new album and performing a dynamic, well-designed set full of energetic, groovy beats.