Editor’s note: The Growlers shows in Reno and San Francisco have been postponed due to concerns about the coronavirus.
Everybody’s talking about the Growlers, who will appear Saturday night in a show expected to sell out at Reno’s Cargo Concert Hall.
“The Growlers music blends lo-fi surf-rock, garage rock, Americana and psychedelic into something so unique it needed to come up with its own genre,” NPR’s World Cafe said this month.
“Have you heard?! There will NOT be an opening band the night of The Growlers, this Saturday at Cargo Reno. That’s right, Growlers, all night…. one LONG set!” the venue tweeted.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and music starts at 8 p.m. at the concert hotspot beneath the Reno arch.
Based in Los Angeles, indie rockers the Growlers emerged in the early part of the 2010s, employing an atmospheric blend of reverb-laden surf rock, country-folk, and classic rock. After a handful of smaller releases, their 2014 album, “Chinese Fountain,” found some mainstream chart success and help expand their audience in advance of the Julian Casablancas-produced “City Club” LP in 2016. In addition to their prolific output, the Growlers have also curated and headlined their own annual festival.
Formed in 2006, the self-described “Beach Goth” outfit went through numerous personnel changes before settling on the core lineup of Brooks Nielsen (vocals), Matt Taylor (lead guitar), Scott Montoya (drums), Anthony Braun Perry (bass) and Kyle Straka (keyboards, guitar) — they later pared down to a trio consisting of Nielsen, Taylor, and Straka.
They issued their debut album, “Are You in or Are You Out?” via Everloving Records in 2009, followed by the “Hot Tropics” EP in 2010. In 2012, the group established its own Beach Goth Festival, which became an annual event featuring a wide variety of acts spanning pop, metal, and hip-hop.
Their follow-up full-length, “Hung at Heart,” arrived in 2013 with their third album, “Chinese Fountain,” coming out the following year on FatCat in the United Kingdom and Everloving in the United States. The latter proved to be somewhat of a breakout for the Growlers and cracked the Billboard 200 pop chart.
For their next release, the band tapped Strokes member Julian Casablancas to produce and the resulting album, “City Club,” appeared in 2016 on Casablancas’ label Cult Records. Two years later, the Growlers issued a collection of rarities and B-sides called Casual Acquaintances via their own Beach Goth label. A new single, “Foghorn Town,” appeared in 2019.
Its latest album, “Natural Affair” is out now and is the namesake for its current tour. The Growlers note on Twitter: “Every lover ends up a psycho, it’s just a natural affair. …”
