Review: Post-Adventures with Lume, Chastity, and Mourn at the Empty Bottle
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The charming Spanish quartet, Mourn, brought a sense of vitality and enthusiasm to the post-punk branch of the tree. Their unfiltered passion shown through as they delivered a no-nonsense, “F you” attitude with a smile. Although they have just entered their 20s, the group is mature beyond their years; partly by nature, partly by the circumstances that were dealt to them early on in their career. In 2016, they battled a legal dispute with their previous label which was an unfortunate setback while they were promoting their sophomore release, Ha, Ha, He. But instead of merely touting that “post-punk” attitude, they continued on and rebounded from the drama that ensued. Two years later, they’re back on tour in support of their latest release, Sorpresa Familia. They took the stage and huddled around the drum set, each member with a stick in hand. A ferocious, synchronized rhythm reverberated throughout, commanding everyone’s immediate attention. All four of them grinned at each other before taking their respective places on stage, opening with the infectious “Barcelona City Tour.” Co-singer and guitarist Jazz Rodríguez Bueno followed with the dark origins behind the next song, “Skeleton,” offering the playful conclusion that they only “write songs about people they hate.” As facetious as that statement may be, the frustration that the group experienced was clearly fuel for the genius that is Sorpresa Familia. Although they played older songs (notably “Second Sage” and “Otitis”) they did go hard on the new material, proudly rocking out bangers like “Strange Ones” and “Doing It Right.” Towards the end of the set, Chastity’s Brandon Williams was ushered on stage for backing vocals on “Sun,” a pensive and beautiful way to end the set. And just like that, all of the pent up energy was released, sending everyone back out into the rainy night.