The Stews
The one word that best describes the version of indie rock offered by the Stews? Soulful. The Auburn, Ala., band’s guitar melodies are undeniable, and the drums are lively. And lead singer Preston Hall’s thrillingly raspy voice is invigorating — even, occasionally, shiver-inducing. From the Stews’ self-titled 2021 EP, the song “Make It Out” (the band’s most listened to on Spotify) is a great encapsulation of what makes the Stews so good. Throughout the song, Blake Dobbs’s rhythm guitar playing sounds almost wavy, like he’s submerged in water. It’s a rousing and introspective song about making it out of a difficult place. When Hall sings, “Oh, it’s hard to stand here when it could all burn down / You just got to know it’ll be just fine,” you can feel his gritty vowel sounds in your bones. On the Stews’ latest album, “What Was,” released in April 2022, the band is just as soulful and perhaps more reflective and moody than usual. In the breakup song “Notions,” softer percussion tiptoes around a subdued guitar. “Seems like breaking out won’t be too far in the end,” Hall sings, giving in to a relationship’s doom. July 15, doors open at 8 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. 930.com. $20.
Punk rock trio Destroy Boys opens its latest single, “Beg for the Torture,” with a provocative line: “Your red back with scratch marks, it’s my art.” Lead singer Alexia Roditis’s rage-filled delivery perfectly reflects the push and pull of an obsession you know is dangerous but can’t resist. Later in the song, Roditis sings, “Put me in a hole and then I made it my home,” pulling listeners deeper into lust’s spinning contradictions. Along with Roditis, guitarist Violet Mayugba and drummer Narsai Malik have released three albums of pure punk, starting with their more lo-fi 2017 debut, “Sorry, Mom.” On their latest album, “Open Mouth, Open Heart,” released in 2021, the band’s lyrics have sharpened, and, in true punk fashion, the musical risks are bigger. The explosive penultimate track “For What” is a standout. “The resistance has always been there / It grows, it dies / And it comes back again,” Roditis scream-sings the last line — a matter-of-fact statement that injustice can’t win forever. July 15, doors open at 7 p.m. at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW.
The one word that best describes the version of indie rock offered by the Stews? Soulful. The Auburn, Ala., band’s guitar melodies are undeniable, and the drums are lively. And lead singer Preston Hall’s thrillingly raspy voice is invigorating — even, occasionally, shiver-inducing. From the Stews’ self-titled 2021 EP, the song “Make It Out” (the band’s most listened to on Spotify) is a great encapsulation of what makes the Stews so good. Throughout the song, Blake Dobbs’s rhythm guitar playing sounds almost wavy, like he’s submerged in water. It’s a rousing and introspective song about making it out of a difficult place. When Hall sings, “Oh, it’s hard to stand here when it could all burn down / You just got to know it’ll be just fine,” you can feel his gritty vowel sounds in your bones. On the Stews’ latest album, “What Was,” released in April 2022, the band is just as soulful and perhaps more reflective and moody than usual. In the breakup song “Notions,” softer percussion tiptoes around a subdued guitar. “Seems like breaking out won’t be too far in the end,” Hall sings, giving in to a relationship’s doom. July 15, doors open at 8 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW.