LOS ANGELES, CA- I get pitched by publicists all the time about artists they represent, but even though I may love the music that I hear, time … and the fact that I often overextend myself to no end … prevents me from giving the proper shine to an artist whose music that I’ve been rocking to for a minute. I’m going to give the band Sextile their well deserved due with this post.
Sextile is an L.A. based punk/EBM band that’s been around since 2015. Though their line-up has morphed over the years, Brady Keehn and Melissa Scaduto have remained constants. On September 14, 2018, they released their 5 song EP 3, and it was that album that was my introduction the band’s music.
Upon my first listen, I was immediately entranced by the dark synths and pulsing drums. Sextile’s modern industrial, dark wave, dance music that makes me long for a dimly lit space to just zone out and shake my body to their rhythms. The comparisons to D.A.F. are apt, as Sextile is able to seamlessly meld electronic rhythms with the raw, give-no-fucks spirit of punk.
As luck would have it, after a much talked about performance at Desert Daze, Sextile was one of the opening acts for the UK band Shame at the Teragram Ballroom back in October. Their live performance matched and exceeded my expectations.
Watching Brady Keehn perform on stage was an intense experience. I was slightly intimated by his distant yet focused stare into the crowd, and that simple facial expression magnified the fierceness of his presence and performance on stage. And while Brady exhibited the visceral nature of Sextile’s music, Melissa was nonchalantly cool, calm and collected banging away on her drums and synths, and even giving the occasional smile or smirk while on stage.
Brady and Melissa were joined on stage by Cat Scan’s Quincy Larsen on guitar. While I don’t think Quincy played on 3, her addition to the line-up was a good one. Quincy’s playing was entrancing. Watching her shred away in her corner of the stage, possessed by the hypnotic and repetitive riffs played by her hands, was something that I was hard pressed to take my eyes off of. Personally, I hope that she remains a relatively permanent fixture to the group.
I hope that 3 is a tease of more music and gigs to come in 2019. I certainly can’t wait to hear more from Sextile and to see them live again and work up another sweat dancing to their rhythmic, dark wave sonics. I can’t make it out to their gig in San Diego this Friday, but if you’re in the area, I highly recommend that you check them out.
Follow Sextile on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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