by Seth Garcia

Sunn O))) is an amazing band. That’s never really debated by anyone—it’s simply just fact. They are the progenitors of their genre, and are widely considered the best at what they do. However, this sort of infamy also has its downside. With their fame also comes plenty of people trying to muscle in on it.

I have some seriously mixed feelings about name-dropping popular bands. For one, it gives possible fans a way of seeking out new music within their favorite genres. On the other hand, sometimes it comes off as a steaming pile of insincerity—like a band desperately clawing for a larger audience.

Lately, I’ve been hearing Sunn O))) being name-dropped like crazy. First, it was used for Earth’s new release Primitive and Deadly. Sure, I get that the band actually inspired Sunn O)))’s music, but that was over ten years ago. Is that really still relevant now that both bands have evolved far past what they once were?

Then I heard Sunn O))) mentioned in a lot of press for the project Dama/Libra. The band is led by creative duo Joel R.L. Phelps and G. Stuart Dahlquist formerly of Silkworm and Sunn O))) respectively. Being a relatively unheard of band, I gave them a listen, because, naturally, I was curious. After all, to actually be in Sunn O))) is different from being, say, an opener on tour with them or one of their collaborators, of which there are many. However, the band often has a rotating lineup and Dahlquist probably didn’t spend very much time with them.

I missed openers Awaas, but I was able to catch to show starting with Owlfood. They weren’t much, but they gave off good energy, which is certainly a feat if you’re a weird droney doom band. Then came solo ambient project High Aura’d. Shoegaze can be tricky to pull off live, especially as a solo act, but it went rather well. His set balanced vocal samples, guitar, and one unique electric mandolin.

So, then came Dama/Libra. Admittedly, I went to their show mostly out of sheer curiosity. Their debut album Claw isn’t much to talk about, but it was the production that seemed like their biggest pitfall. So, giving them the benefit of the doubt, I went to see if their production would translate better live. Sadly, that wasn’t really the case.

The band was expanded into a five man outfit, which was probably more members than needed. The whole band was almost never playing at any given time, with members often having to stand and look at the floor without playing. They definitely could have benefitted from some more instrumentation. At some points, Dama/Libra was reduced to Phelps yelling while the drummer beat a large african bass drum.

Phelps was both captivating and off-putting, which was exactly what I think he wanted to be. Dama/Libra purposely places itslef in that strange subspace of both terrifying and repulsive sound, which sometimes lands them in an awkward position. At the end of one of their numbers, the audience—either due to not knowing if the song had ended or out of plain discomfort—didn’t even clap. Phelps almost reminded me of a drunk and possessed Rivers Cuomo. His eyes rolled back in his head and his arms flailed about every time he hollered into the too-high-for-his-face microphone.

It probably didn’t help that the Middle East turned out to be a horrible venue for the troupe. The notoriously unreliable soundsystem relentlessly pounded on the band, distorting any chance they might have had at a consistent sound,

However, their set wasn’t undeserving of any and all merit. When all five members played together, Dama/Libra acomplished what I believe they were aiming for. Several times throughout the night, they hit the sweet spot that had just the right amount of terror behind their wobbly wall of excorsist doom. In fact, when they were at their strongest, I could see them actually growing past poorly attended shows at the Middle East into much greater territory. Dama/Libra, if nothing else, showed that they have some potential just under the surface that’s waiting to be fully mined.