After completing their first US tour in 2025 and touring across Europe over the past year, Chanel Beads has continued to grow their presence among the experimental and indie music scene. Having played in Austin twice before, first at 29th Street Ballroom and later at Moody Amphitheater to open for Lorde, the band returned to the city once more this time at Brushy Street Commons, following the release of their second album, Your Day Will Come.
In their latest album, the band refines the balance between experimental sound design and melodic indie pop without losing the strange unsettling quality that makes their music so distinctive. With a new twist to their usual dreamlike electronic sounds, their second album builds on their mechanical drums and jagged acoustic instrumentals to create something more rougher on the edges, yet still cohesive.
Upon arriving at the venue for the show, there were surprisingly quite a number of people already standing in line. A fan waved to Shane and Maya across the street and was able to get their vinyl signed. I, empty handed on the other hand, asked to get a sweeper which they were more than willing to do, following a short conversation discussing college radio stations together.
As we entered the venue, the fog filled the space, softening the room into a hazy dreamscape. Conversations filled the room and hummed beneath the anticipation as the crowd slowly settled in. Between the mist, low lighting and the chatter filling the room, everything felt suspended in time.
Car Culture emerged onto the luminous stage, bathed in the fog beneath the liminal lights. Their dreamy guitar riffs against the funky beats set the tone for the evening, preparing the room for the disorienting soundscapes that would follow. “Doesn’t Really Matter” stood out as a personal favorite, with its infectious rhythm and repetitive lyrics cutting through, leaving the crowd in anticipation for more to come.
Horse Vision took the stage as the second opener, grounding the room in anchoring chords before unraveling them into something more otherworldly... Their textured guitar riffs layered over one another, weaving between warmth and distortion accompanied by their unique vocal effects, giving their music an almost weightless and disembodied quality? A personal favorite, “Partly Get By” resonated with me in a way that felt familiar yet new. Coming all the way from Sweden and performing for the first time in Austin, the duo brought a sound that felt both distant and intimate as they filled the room with sounds that transcended the space.
Chanel Beads finally took the stage, accompanied by violinist Zachary Paul to open the set with “I Think I Saw” from their 2024 debut album. The song’s foreboding undertones immediately established the atmosphere, with its experimental electronic sounds and uneasy textures pulling the room back into the band’s world. Moving between songs from both albums, with a few singles scattered throughout the set, the band kept the performance unpredictable, much like their music itself. Shane mirrors this through his movements on stage, constantly shifting and swaying with the music, his restless presence reflecting the unrestrained nature of their sound.
Despite it being my second time seeing them, there was something fascinating about hearing them perform live again. Their arrangements felt unfinished, as if they were caught in the middle of moments becoming something else and changing. Instead of following arranged structures, the songs drifted between distorted vocals, mechanical percussion and jagged instrumentals. The ambiguity in their music is what I believe makes their music so compelling…
A series of emotions unfolded throughout the songs that leave you yearning for more. Tracks like, “Song for the Messenger,” “JBL in the Fireplace,” and “Tyler Richard” made me feel obsolete in a timeless haze, with the weight of each song sounding familiar but so different. As the band got further and further into the set, their voices enveloped the room and the booming bass from the speaker pulsated through our bones. Their raw and experimental performance makes you feel like you’ve joined their journey through the grief, dreams and hope in their songs, leaving you with the sense that even in the most unfamiliar of places, there is something worth holding on to.
As the final notes of “True Altruism” faded out, we were all left wanting more and began to chant for another song. To our surprise, the band returned with an unreleased song, giving us something entirely new they’ve been working on. There was something fitting about them ending the show with something we couldn’t return to... You’re left longing for more, knowing that somewhere beyond the distortion, noise and uncertainty, something awaits and your day will come.
