CARDIEL [MEXICO CITY STONER/PSYCHADELIA/SKATEROCK] Possibly one of the more underrated aspects of Bremerton’s Charleston Music Venue is that they bring international thrash and hardcore bands to town. Oftentimes, it’s on some nondescript week night when the band is just passing through on tour. Like this band Cardiel. A two-piece, formed in 2010 originally in Mexico City. They play this stompy, heavy blend of skaterock mixed with fuzz punk and some straight up heavy doom riffs. Then, they’ll break into psychedelic reggae dub stuff before they drop back into almost Motörhead-style rippers. Definitely has that sound of dropping in and out of skateparks with a 40-ouncer poured into an empty Big Gulp cup. The band has been touring incessantly over the past decade-plus. They’ve done some cool shit with Thrasher Magazine. They are on a stretch up the West Coast this time around, before they hit the Chuck on a Thursday night, and travel on for almost two months across the country to the East Coast on this tour.
[CARDIEL w/ Spanghew and Mental Collapse, all ages, 8 p.m., Aug 7, $15 at the Charleston. Listen to their 2022 LP ‘El Armagedón Afterparty’ at cardiel.bandcamp.com]
BETE GRISE [CHIMACUM INDIE/PSYCHADELIC/ALT-COUNTRY] I hope I’m not overstretching to say, in my mind, if the tiny town of Chimacum had an audio signature it might likely sound something like this. This relatively new band was passed on to me after they came down for the Manette Radio Hour sessions at Woodwork Tattoo in Bremerton last month. It’s got that subtle country backbone, complete with a lap steel guitar, sharp drums and proper mustaches. It’s layered with subtle indie singer/songwriter sensibility over the top in song-speak lyrics, laced with bits of that ethereal lost-in-thought kind-of overtones. It gives me the feeling of sitting on a porch, on a sweeping property somewhere in a valley at sunset. Turns out the name (a French word pronounced ‘bay-duh-gree’) was actually inspired by a haunted beach in upper Michigan. But I’m still gonna say it sounds like Chimacum. The band just released their debut EP in June. Sounds like they’ve got some shows coming up in Port Townsend in August.
[Keep a look out for upcoming shows at betegrisesongs.com and listen to their 2025 self-titled EP at betegrisesongs.bandcamp.com]
SIRSY [ALBANY, NY SASSY POP ROCK DUO] I accidentally spaced out to this band for what seemed like a couple hours the other night. Couldn’t exactly say why. It was one of those random playlist things I happened upon while cruising through the upcoming live music calendar. And I just let it ride. It’s kind of infectious. It’s not even my type of music but I got lost in it. Something about the singer’s voice lured me in, I think. Maybe that siren type of thing. It’s a husband/wife duo out of Albany, New York. They’ve been making music since the year 2000. The internet says they started as a cover band but I’m glad they moved to making originals. It’s got a mix of jangly 60s-era clean rock guitar underlaying the sultry soulful blues-y vocals with a rhythm-and-blues back beat and a penchant for segueing into shimmering early-2000s era pop stuff that just melts. The duo will be doing a cafe show on Bainbridge later in September.
[SIRSY 7 p.m., 21+, $25, Sept 27 at The Treehouse Cafe, Bainbridge. Listen to their 2019 EP ‘Like A Drum’ at sirsy.bandcamp.com] // INVISIBLE NICK
