Indie synth-pop group Inner Wave added an extra stop to their tour to perform at the Brighton Music Hall with HOKO. The Jukebox Tour started out as a 20-date stretch, but soon expanded to 24 after the band added dates in Mexico City, New York and Vermont, where the band headlined Field Day Festival in Guilford.
LA-based indie synth psych group, Inner Wave, have been staking their claim on the scene for almost two decades, consistently releasing singles, EPs and full-length records since their inception in 2006. After finding substantial success with the release of their first two records, III and Sun Transmission, the band has toured regularly, with appearances at Coachella, Desert Daze and other festivals. Their most recent album, Apoptosis, explored their darker side of psychedelia and synth rock.
The band opened up with “Take 3,” the lead single from Apoptosis, with the style and swagger they are often known for. Drummer Luis Portillo counts the band in while bassist Pierre Narvaez slides in with a funk-wah bassline that gives the song a dreamy atmosphere. Vocalist Pablo Sotelo sings through a plethora of vocal effects, including distortion, reverb and autotune to round out the soundscape. The group swings back and forth between new and old material, with a return to their traditional format as Sotelo and Elijah Trujilo grab their guitars and rip into “Bower,” off their 2017 record, Underwater Pipe Dreams. They even included “88,” an older song from their catalog; Sotelo thanked the crowd and stated they stopped playing the song for years, but recently brought it back to life.
Inspired by names such as the Strokes, Tame Impala and Gorillaz, Sotelo also frequently cites sci-fi films (specifically Blade Runner) as a huge source of material. The eerie and spacey feeling of their sound is complemented by some of their more poppy and bouncy songs like “Rose” and “Mushroom.” The consistent yet diverse sound of Inner Wave is surely one to experience within the expansive world of indie rock.
