Meet the Bands of MusicfestNW Presents Project Pabst 2017: Lithics

WHY YOU CARE: Nothing if not abrasive, Lithics’ brand of pop is made up of angular guitar work, surfy dissonance and the jittery pulse of punk rock. Singer Aubrey Hornor’s straight-faced vocals offer a strange life raft amid the choppy, ticking time bomb feel of Lithics’ sound. The obscure call-and-response among electric guitars is combustible, and often ends in cacophonous mayhem. There’s palpable post-punk experimentalism throughout, in the form of eerie repetition, bulging bass lines and an utter disregard for familiarity. Part of Lithics’ appeal is that it’s purposefully and painstakingly distorted—the musical equivalent of a Ralph Steadman painting. Hornor and company’s sonic impressionism reminds of art-rock greats Women, while its lo-fi nature parallels the modernist pop of Cate Le Bon, albeit harsher. Art ought to challenge the beholder, and Lithics has embraced the task with guitars blazing.