Lauren Lakis and Buckets teamed up for a double album release party at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Lakis recently released her fourth studio album Deadlights and it was her penultimate tour stop. Buckets released their third studio album Horse To Water and will be embarking on an album supporting tour in July. The night was presented by litany of Los Angeles music scene supporters: KCRW, Big Top Booking, and Slouch Records (the record label behind Buckets' album).
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| Lauren Lakis at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
Starting off the record release party was Lauren Lakis (the opening band of the night was Marni and I'll have a separate blog post on their set). Her record label RidingEasy Records provides this background on the record's inspiration, "Despite these circumstances and the recurring theme of loss in its songs [her mother recently passed away], Lakis doesn’t consider Deadlights a grief album. Instead it captures what’s possible when you survive the worst reality you can imagine." If you click on the link, they mention that it is her debut album, which I think they mean specifically with them.
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| Lauren Lakis at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
She played six of the ten tracks off the album, starting things off with the opening shoegaze track "There" that has a striking guitar beginning that sticks with you along with the lyrics "take me there, brushing my hair." The music video (see here) is interspersed with homemade family movies. The song seemed to put her in a peaceful meditative headspace. Other than just a really beautiful way to open the night, what immediately struck me was her bassist Elik Jazdzewski. I wrote down, "bassist is moving like a man on a mission."
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| Lauren Lakis at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
I've always been a fan of hers since first crossing paths in 2018. In fact, I saw five sets in 2023. That was after she left Los Angeles and moved to Austin. Now that she's living in Germany, there was no way I was missing perhaps my only chance to catch her in 2026 (I don't have any plans this year to fly to Germany). I was not the only one who had a similar thought process as there were plenty of familiar faces in the audience and there was no need for her to encourage people to come to the front of the stage.
Other than "There," another song that really stood out to me was the title track "Deadlights." The sound is heavy. Perhaps my thought processes were skewed by the fact that she was dressed in black, but I heard a tune that was drenched in a mixture of death punk shoegaze.
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| Lauren Lakis at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
Moments of the set: it has to be the wild bass playing of Jazdzewski. Yeah, I love Lauren Lakis, but one has to give it up to the wild antics of sliding across the floor on your back one moment and then slamming your bass against the floor the next. Perhaps inspired by it all, Lakis herself played down on her knees during a portion of the set. All that chaos resulted in the following exchange towards the end, "Look, I don't have a knob anymore" and "My guitar isn't working anymore."
After a brief intermission, Buckets came up to close out the night and celebrate their album release. They mentioned the record could be bought for the first time out in the patio. My history with Buckets doesn't go back as far as it does with Lauren Lakis though perhaps my first encounter is more memorable. It was in 2021 and life was slowly returning back to normal. They were part of a mini-outdoor festival in the backyard of someone's house in Highland Park.
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| Buckets at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
It seemed like the front of the stage was so packed with people that it would be impossible for anyone to get to the front. Never say never as a friend of the band squeezed through with a couple drinks for bassist Mitch Rossiter (who I swear I though was going to end up smacking my glasses off my head at some point in the set). The front was packed with photographers and videographers. It gave me a thrill to see so many photographers packing the front. Often times when I go out, I'm either the only photographer or one of two. There is just something pre-2020 when there are five photographers doing their thing.
The band's bandcamp has this quote about the album, "Horse To Water no doubt expands the band’s universe when it comes to instrumentational variety, sonic depth, and the boundaries of the indie punk genre." Beyond just their sound, the band puts on a show that is filled with energy and running antics that are anticipated by the crowd.
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| Buckets at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
Their song "Attention" from the album would appear to be a fan favorite. One of the talents of the band is to craft lyrics that fans can easily chant back to the band. "Looking" (a song from their debut self titled album) created that moment as the crowd was singing the chorus "I can't tell you what I'm looking for, looking for."
Moment of the set: "Better" starts off at a slow tempo. Somehow during this brief break from their hyper-active set, drummer Hiram Sevilla lost a drumstick that went clip clopping past lead singer Tanner Houghton. The band stopped playing and there was absolute silence from the crowd. Sevilla looked on with a sheepish look.
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| Buckets at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
One could feel the anticipation rising throughout the set for the band to allow the crowd to participate in one of the running antics of the band. Prior to "Wishing," Houghton finally allowed the stress to be relieved as he joined in with the crowd to chant out "Buckets Buckets Buckets."
I did not lose my glasses, but the fourth member of the band Sasha Massey did lose his glasses. During "Wishing," Massey and Houghton did a battle of the guitars. I would say Houghton won, because Massey's glasses went flying. Unless he put his glasses off to the side, he lost them a second time during their final song of the set "Smokey." The band called up a friend to take over guitar duties, which freed up Massey to jump into the crowd and start a fun mosh pit. He came back on stage without his glasses once again.
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| Buckets at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
Lauren Lakis setlist: There, It's So Amazing, No One's Around Now, I Fall Apart, Deadlights, Love Like A Dog, Take My Hand.
Buckets setlist: I Give Up, Attention, Looking, Naked, Oh Mamma, Honest, Better, Harley, Home, Wishing, Jackknife, Smokey.
Buckets will be playing at Oblivion on July 26th with a personal favorite Janelane.
Spotify for Lauren Lakis' Deadlights.
Spotify for Buckets' Horse To Water.
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