The Districts – In Concert At Best Kept Secret – June 8, 2018 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection
Pennsylvania wünderkinds The Districts in concert tonight – Recorded at Best Kept Secret Festival in The Netherlands on June 8th of this year, this once-upon-a-time group of high school buddies have done well for themselves, these past few years. Winding up on many “Band to Watch” lists, including the prestigious NME in the UK who bestowed that honor on them in 2015. They’ve been the recipients of quite a good deal of buzz on both sides of the Atlantic.
Their latest album Popular Manipulations, the end-result of a three year journey was issued in August of last year. A new single; Nighttime Girls/Soft Auxiliary was issued in March of this year. They are currently in the midst of doing a swing through Europe before heading back to the state in September for a string of shows until November. Busy schedule.
As for their latest album, Popular Manipulations – here’s what they have to say via their own website:
It’s not uncommon for musicians to grow and evolve between releases—but even by those standards, the Districts’ Popular Manipulations is stunning. The Pennsylvania-borne band’s third full-length represents an exponential leap in sound and cohesion, an impressive and impassioned burn with a wide scope that threatens to swallow everything else surrounding it. Perhaps it’s a cliché to say so, but while listening, you might find yourself wondering why people don’t make indie rock like this anymore.
The total electric charge of Popular Manipulations is just the latest evolution for the impressively young quartet, whose founding members—vocalist/guitarist Rob Grote, bassist Connor Jacobus, and drummer Braden Lawrence—have known each other since attending grade school together in the Pennsylvania town of Lititz. After deciding to form a band in high school, the Districts gigged hard in the tri-state area, releasing a slew of promising material (including the rootsy 2012 debut Telephone) before catching the eye of venerable indie Fat Possum. 2015’s A Flourish and a Spoil found the band refining their embryonic sound with veteran producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Kurt Vile)—and looking back on that release, there are glimmers of Popular Manipulations in chrysalis form to be found on it, hints of the fence-swinging anthemic sound they’d soon make wholly their own.
To get an idea of what they’re up to, and how the crowds are enjoying them overseas, here is what they were doing a few days ago at Best Kept Secret.
Crank it up.
