The Charleston trio Abrevity has a July 27 show at the Royal American that’s important for a couple of reasons.
First, it’s the first time Abrevity has played its hard-rocking “post grunge” music live since last May. Second, it comes after the band, consisting of singer/guitarist Igor de Souza, singer/bassist Nick Moody and drummer Dylan LaFong, released its first new material in four years. The Era EP came out earlier this year.
“I guess it has been a minute, hasn’t it?” Dylan LaFong said in a recent conversation with the Charleston City Paper. “But we never truly went inactive at any point.”
So what caused the disappearance?
“There was a lot going on internally that we had to figure out that led us to where we are now,” LaFong said. “We decided as a band to take a break from shows to focus on everything else happening behind the scenes. Not just for us, but also the people that listen to our music and come out to our shows.”
The Era EP proves that it was the right decision.
Over five tracks, Abrevity sounds tighter than it ever has, careening through the Foo Fighters-style rocker “Affray,” the sleek, propulsive “Dust,” the hypnotic, polyrhythmic jam “768,” and the heartfelt emo-leaning ballad “Medusa” before wrapping up with a pop-punk gem called “Hope So.”
It’s a dramatic expansion of the band’s sound, which de Souza said meant that getting the EP done took a while.
“It took a year of experimenting with sounds and bouncing ideas until it arrived at a point where we felt ready to release it,” he said. “In fact, there’s another version of Era that wasn’t released that started production even before that, but ultimately we made the decision to go this route.”
With new material out, the next step was a tour, which Abrevity is now on with a fellow Charleston band, the emo rockers Newgrounds Death Rugby. And after more than a year away, bassist Nick Moody said the band has missed being onstage.
“We missed the energy, the music, and most importantly, the people,” Moody said. “There’s something so surreal about that feeling you get on stage, seeing people having fun and vibing with the music. We love the wave of adrenaline, and it makes us extremely excited to hit the road again.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Doors open at 9 p.m., July 27, The Royal American, 970 Morrison Drive. Charleston. Tickets are $10: theroyalamerican.com
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