If you’re even a casual fan of Punk, Emo, Indie Rock, Post Rock or any tangentially related combinations or offshoots, chances are you’ve sought out a release from Topshelf Records. Over the past 11 years, the renowned independent label has amassed an impressive roster of nearly 40 artists including respected veteran Indie Rock bands (The City on Film, Mock Orange), more recent but acclaimed newcomers (The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, Field Mouse, Wildhoney) and even Braid, an icon of Post Hardcore/Emo experimentalism.
Topshelf was created in 2006 when Seth Decoteau and Kevin Duquette were trying to establish their band as a legitimate entity and thought a real label might offer the desired credibility. When the band fizzled, Decoteau and Duquette decided to maintain the label in order to release albums by their friends’ bands, quickly became an independent success story. Along the way, the label has risen in stature within the industry and relocated from its Boston-area birthplace to new digs in San Diego. After years of buzzy South by Southwest showcases, Topshelf is now presenting a package tour of roster artists, featuring Us and Us Only, People Like You, Slingshot Dakota and Prawn.
Dreamy Indie Rock/Slowcore quintet Us and Us Only is touring on Full Flower, its recently released full-length debut after seven years of EPs and singles. The band’s whisper-thin vocals and subtly powerful soundtrack hit with Shoegaze intensity and Ambient emotion.
With juddering rhythms and slithering guitar lines, Boston’s People Like You explores the intersection of Indie Rock, Baroque Pop and Jazz on its new sophomore album, Verse, its second full-length in three years.
Slingshot Dakota is a sparkling Indie Pop/Synth Punk duo from Bethlehem, Penn., that mix heavy messages with a light but impactful touch. Since last year’s excellent full-length Break, the twosome has released the brilliant Broken 7-inch, featuring the noisily melodic “Grudge” and the Suddenly, Tammy!-adjacent “Dying Stars.”
Headliner Prawn earns its show-closing status with its latest Indie/Emo/Punk triumph, the roiling, raucous Run. On 2014’s Kingfisher, the Ridgefield, N.J. quintet was considerably more expansive and adventurous musically, but Run finds Prawn cutting away all extraneous elements and aiming straight for its sonic and lyrical core.
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This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 6, 2017.
