The Dark Corners

Trading sunshine vibes for bleak, gothic post-punk , Corners hit the Hideout on Dec. 18

The perfect soundtrack to these chilly December nights shows up at our doorstep on Dec. 18. No, it's not getting dropped off by sleigh or slid down the chimney with care, but rather it skids into town via rusty touring van. Making that dreary trek south down the I-5 to San Diego, Corners -- the equally morose Angeleno foursome -- will be ushering in a slightly less festive mood at the Hideout.

The group (composed of band mastermind and vocalist Tracy Bryant, bassist Jeffertitti, guitarist Rob Cifuentes and drummer Rick Mabery) released their sophomore full-length, "Maxed Out on Distractions," on Lolipop Records earlier this year, and it's nothing short of a gothic masterpiece.

However, it's is a far cry from their 2012 debut, "Beyond Way," which at that time was all Bryant and bong-water surf-pop. After the addition of Cifuentes and Mabery, Corners started sounding like a legit band and less like the home-cooked ramblings of a '60s primal-pop enthusiast.

So it's no surprise then that their sophomore record reflects those changes overall -- delightfully ditching trippy sunshine vibes for a hard, monochromatic mood.

The band now inhales the bleak goth-rock smoke of Joy Division and the Cure and cuts it with the post-punk energy of Bauhaus and Killing Joke. The sticky icky guitar-centric musings of their prior efforts get traded for synthesizer-led doom 'n' gloom -- all steeped in darkroom solitude.

"Distraction" is a heady mix of druggy desolation and overcast grittiness -- and for those of us who are happy only when it rains, the record provides some relief from the unrelenting pleasantness of America's Finest City.

So forget the yuletide carols and eggnog and breakout the eyeliner instead -- Corners are set to switch the colorful glow of the season for a more severe lighting on Thursday.

Corners play the Hideout on Dec. 18, with Tropical Popsicle and Subtropics. Tickets are $8, and the show starts at 9 p.m. -- for more information, go here.

Dustin Lothspeich plays in Old Tiger, Chess Wars and Boy King. Follow his updates on Twitter or contact him directly.

Contact Us