For the past week, I’ve been experiencing underwater dreams. The only difference between these dreams and my normal days is everything takes place under water. I’ve attributed these underwater dreams to attending The Growlers concert at the Hi-Fi in Fountain Square in Indianapolis on March 7.
Together, the five-piece southern California band swaggered to their respective positions on stage in matching light brown trench coats and boiler suits over leopard-print collared shirts.
The drummer, Richard Gowen, said to me before the show that the band went mini-bowling at the Duckpin Bowling alley across the street from the Hi-Fi. They must have looked like a competitive mini-bowling team in their coordinated outfits and “The Growlers” embroidered in hot pink across their backs.
They began the sold-out set with “World Unglued,” a track from their most recent album, “City Club.” The Growlers’ fifth studio album, produced by The Strokes front man Julian Casablancas, was released Sept. 30, 2016, almost exactly two years after their album “Chinese Fountain.”
Their sound is reminiscent of an underwater synth-pop version of The Strokes with hints of surf rock. By the third song, “Hiding Under Covers,” a track from their 2012 EP “Gilded Pleasures,” lead singer Brooks Nielsen briefly removed his hand from a bobbing hip and snatched the beanie off his head to reveal disheveled brown hair.
Through their twenty-four-song set list, the beach goth band members projected composed demeanors, but were energetic and interactive with fans at the same time.
Between songs, one fan asked bassist Brad Bowers, a model-type tower of blonde, what conditioner he uses.
“I don’t,” he said with a shrug before re-focusing on grabbing the bottle of Osiris standing between his feet to replenish.
While they started and ended the night with tracks from “City Club,” the band mixed it up with songs from each of their albums, including classics such as “One Million Lovers” from “Hung At Heart” (2013) and “Going Gets Tough” from “Chinese Fountain.”
Jam out to tracks from “City Club” on 91.5 WGRE.