We’d like to introduce you to a few more bands before Riot Fest kicks off this weekend, starting with one of our favorites: Algiers, a post-punk/dark wave band from Atlanta like you’ve never heard before.
To just think of Algiers as “post-punk” would be selling them short. The band’s members were long part of Atlanta’s underground noise scene before meeting vocalist and guitarist Franklin James Fisher, who drew influence from Black gospel, soul, and funk and mixed them with notes of industrial and gothic music to forge Algiers’ sound. The band self-describes their sound as bridging the gap between “witch house and Hugh Laurie’s House.”
Their self-titled debut came out in 2015 and drew universal praise for the band’s lyricism and intricate song structures; as such, Algiers is the best record to start with. (You’d be a fool to skip their equally-good sophomore LP, The Underside of Power, though.)
If you like what you hear, be sure to check them out this weekend—Algiers’ live energy is unparalleled. They’ll play Riot Fest this year on Friday, September 16 on the Rebel stage at 3:15 p.m. CT; in the meantime, you can get to know the band below.
FOR FANS OF: LIARS, SOUL GLO, SAVAGES, PREOCCUPATIONS
DESCRIBE YOUR OWN MUSIC:
Q&A
Bucket-list collaborator for a future Algiers song:
“Iggy Pop”
Which album would be your desert island pick, if you just had one?
“Rowland S Howard’s Teenage Snuff Film”
Favorite Riot Fest set you’ve seen?
“This is my first time at Riot Fest, but seeing as GWAR is playing, I did deliver 7 pizzas to them many years ago as a teenager after one of their shows in Atlanta. Half the pizzas were just sauce and peppers and onions, which at the time I thought was one of those weird rock and roll brown M&Ms requests and now, years later, I realise is a completely normal order for people with dietary restrictions.”
