BY B AO L E - H U U HESITANT WAITRESS | PHOTO BY ANNA BRANCH
LOCAL RELEASES
New Orlando act Hesitant Waitress just debuted with a set of demos titled Temperance. Although the guise is novel, Hesitant Waitress is the current vehicle of Emma Branch, a musician who was around the Orlando scene as a youngster in the late 2000s before moving away and then back after some years. Though this new EP is but a demo, it’s a four-song document that signals what could be Branch’s most impressive and cogent look yet. The recordings — all performed and produced herself — may be introductory and rough, but Temperance delivers indie pop of immediate instinct. Evoking Seapony’s soft, pristine hooks and Alvvays’ breathy swoon, the feathered melodies float on dream clouds, suspended in the sweetest of spots. Surrounding them are sounds colored with character using a wide palette that sometimes crosses over into noise pop. Nascent glimpses though they are, these songs are nonetheless radiant with promise. As Hesitant Waitress, Emma Branch is back in the game, back in town and better than ever before. Temperance is up now on Bandcamp and Spotify. In singles, there are a couple of fresh rap tracks ready for your summer playlist. The first and catchiest is “Faster Please” by colorful Orlando collective Seeyousoon. A motley rhyme crew that’s not just nine members deep but nine personalities wide, this young group is a modern kaleidoscope in look and sound. Their prolific output so far has an eclectic and roaming sonic profile, but this latest single is a laser-focused jam. The irresist-
As Hesitant Waitress, Emma Branch is back in the game, back in town and better than ever before with a set of radiant indiepop songs
ible “Faster Please” is a slinky banger that funks, pops and snaps on a taut, liquid groove. It’s three hot minutes crammed tight without an ounce of drag, and it’s easily Seeyousoon’s most effortless and floor-ready song to date. The video’s got as much flow and rhythm as the song. Further outward on the spectrum, O-grown left-field hip-hop duo Ohtwo just dropped new single “Whole Pack (Chasinat).” Throbbing in a dreamworld between half-sleep and hypnosis, it’s a circular lullaby that spirals down into the unwitting consciousness like a dark trap spell. Up on Bandcamp as a name-yourprice download, it’s cheaper than drugs but just as effective.
MUSIC EVENTS THIS WEEK Patterson Hood: Landing the DriveBy Truckers frontman for the first of only two Florida dates is as big a shot across the bow as Tuffy’s has fired so far this year, now that the Sanford spot has its own proper live venue. This solo engagement is a chance to be up front and intimate with a certified A-lister and mod-
ern Americana master. (7 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, Tuffy’s Music Box, $30-$65) SET, Syn Nine, DJ Maus: OK, so all your black leather has been gathering pandemic dust over the past year. I feel you, I think. Here’s a prime opportunity to strap it on again with a bill that’s tailor-made for the cyber freaks. Between the witch house of Arizona’s Set, the industrial drive of Orlando’s Syn Nine and the dark sounds of Tampa’s DJ Maus (of Communion After Dark and Obscura Undead), this one’s worth getting decked out for. Best masks in town tonight, guaranteed. (8 p.m. Friday, June 25, Will’s Pub, $12) Teenage Bottlerocket: Their name’s been popping up in the news lately because of their St. Pete show three days before this Orlando date. The pop-punk stars are on their “Safety First, Party Second” tour, and that sentiment was sensationally amplified by promoter Paul Williams of Leadfoot Promotions when tickets were being sold at $18 for vaccinated people and $999.99 for those who aren’t. Well, the Orlando show’s $3 cheaper for the vaccinated and $100 more expensive for the unvaxxed. Only the first part of that sentence is actually true but the second should be, too, because this is Florida. Oh well, go get the GD shot already, people. There is a mask requirement for this show, so there. And definitely show up early for Fat Wreck Chords labelmates MakeWar and Orlando punk standouts Debt Neglector. (8 p.m. Tuesday, June 29, Will’s Pub, $15) baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com orlandoweekly.com
●
JUNE 23-29, 2021 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY
45
