“Wrapped in Plastic” release show pries roof off Nightclub101

New York rock fans rang in the start of the summer season at the Lower East Side’s Nightclub101 (a resurrection of the legendary house-of-drag Pyramid Club), celebrating Pry’s debut album Wrapped in Plastic.

As the clocks rolled the day over from the 31st of May to the first of June, opening artist Cal Fish held a homemade pillow to their microphone, capturing a resonance from within it, then modulating and amplifying the sound. The New York-based sonic pioneer Cal has their show rooted in creating a live soundscape from scratch. The scratch in question were homemade pedals, sample pads, cabling, and on, all wrapped in scraps of fabric and towel so they can be handled and stomped on as the show went went.

The act consisted of Cal, with their iconic flute, and Becca, the guitarist for the night, singing into microphones that followed a complicated signal flow of effects. The sound was much like that of an experimental DJ set, but all of the loops and samples being played were manufactured live in the room. It gives their live show a party feel to them, but also creates a show that is fascinating to watch to see how they will complicate the sound further. The only downside of a show of this kind is that if sounds are being modulated live, they can hit extremes that can become hard to listen to. During a few moments of the set notes hit a pitch that became a little painful for a prolonged amount of time. These moments were few and far between and often overshadowed by the complexity of the soundscape they were creating.

As June first began to take shape around us, the act of the evening was setting up on stage. Pry consist of four member: Amara, the bassist who stands front and center on stage; Simeon, the guitar player, standing off to stage left; Ollie, the synth player, set up behind a wall of synths on stage right; and Dave, the drummer, behind the three acting as their rock.

Pre-show, when asked to describe their sound, the band wouldn’t put an exact genre on it, saying their music is defined by their influences and what they want it to sound like. They don’t fear making changes mid-song to emphasise a different style. It could be easy to say they are a rock band, beyond that, it may depend on what song you have on or even what point of the song you’re listening to at the time to get more specific.

This is the band’s third lineup iteration, with Simeon, Amara, and Dave being the most consistent members through their two years of history. Simeon and Amara, prior to the show, spoke about how Ollie’s addition to the band has opened their sound up and allowed them to explore new facets of their music. They dropped from a two-guitar act to a single-guitar act to allow for a more prominent synth sound. This allows Simeon to switch from lead to rhythm guitar mid-song and back again when needed. It is a focus required style of play, and you can’t rest on the remainder of the band to carry you when you’re playing the role of two.

Despite all the factors, the new lineup, album, and venue, the group tore the house down. The set was tight and went by in the blink of an eye as they had a limited repertoire to choose from, but the songs they had arranged for the show sounded perfect. They played into the light of a projector that sent images of warped light and colour over them and the wall behind them. The room was packed for the show, and the crowd loved what the band had to offer.

Simeon bounced around the stage with his guitar slung high, giving him a hunched shoulders look to his dancing. Amara stood one foot in front of the other and plucked the band’s rhythm and singing with equal parts consonance and dissonance. Great energy in the room and on the stage alike.

The group is in their relative infancy, so it wouldn’t be unexpected for their sound and lineup to continue to grow and change. The direction they seem to be heading in, though, be it with this group of players or not, is only looking positive. Each position on stage contained an immense amount of talent, and while they may have not started to make eye contact with each other much while playing, their rapport on stage is high class. Put their new album Wrapped in Plastic in your queue and keep an eye out for future show dates.