Lemon Sky played a killer set, more than living up to their self-description: “a psych-rock/prog-pop quintet that creates a heavy yet highly-melodic brand of psychedelic garage rock that combines the classic rock pomp and stomp of Led Zeppelin with the paisley pop melodies and modern musicality of Queens of the Stone Age for a forward-thinking sound rooted in the past.
The band’s signature three-guitar attack consists of vocalist Aaron Madrigal, lead guitarist Ed Bruker, and noise machine Eric Cronstein while the he foundation of the the group is laid down by drummer Eric Keyes and bassist Steven Korfhagen. This pairing of instrumentation allows Lemon Sky’s live show to recreate and expand upon their recorded material with visceral textures, tonal layers, and rhythmic intricacies. A Lemon Sky show is nothing if not full, heavy, and intense.” I first saw them play last fall (along with Suck the Honey) in another middle-of-nowhere town in Wisconsin and was completely blown away by their musical talent, song craftsmanship and stage presence. At that show, and this one, they played tracks from their 2016 release Dos, including “Guillotine,” “Ash and Bone” and my favorite from Dos, “Kept in Beyond” and also played a brand-new song, “Moses Acid.” They also included an absolutely amazing song from Lemon Sky, “Miles High,” which is an epic proggy-psychedelic-hard-rock piece of amazingness that alone is worth having this entire record (though the rest of the record is pretty awesome, as well, like the hard rocking “Bail,” “Brain Freeze” and “Vendetta Machine.”) I’m pretty sure they also played the manic speed “Peruvian Torch” from Lemon Sky as well as a  couple of covers, the Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Freddy Mercury’s voice is impossible to match, but singer Aaron Madrigal has got the pipes to come pretty damn close. Lemon Sky will be back in Wisconsin in August to play Appleton’s Mile of Music Festival and I will definitely be seeing them again.

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They describe their music as “thick, fuzzy guitar tones and heavy, pounding drums. Where STH does it their own way is in the dynamics within each song, the switch from sad to angry, depressed to destructive.” Five More Failures delivers: “Choke” is pure brutality, the anger at the song’s antagonist drips like venom from the speakers, “Holy Water” has a killer hook and groove infused with heavy metal guitar and drums while maintaining a pop sensibility that could make it a hit (at least with fans of nihilism), and on “Don’t Deny It” Frazier spits out venom at lightning fast speeds. “No One’s Someone” is more atmospheric, sadly sparse and deeply melancholy for the first half of the song before exploding into a fit of musical and emotional fury, the pain and anger of loss palpable in Frazier’s wail. The EP concludes with “Run My Shit,” a light romp through sunny fields – kidding! It too is brutal, thrashing guitar and head-banging beats.

I’m casual friends with Lucas Frazier (guitar/vocals) and Jake Grove (drums) on social media and get small glimpses into their “real” lives. Their looks and personalities kinda remind me of the dichotomy between Loki and Thor: one dark, sinister (Frazier – though he has the most adorable little Pomeranian pup, I believe named Annie, and will post pictures of her giving him kisses, etc. so I guess not that sinister; he’s also a really enjoyable guy to chat with in person); the other lionesque bright blonde thunder power (Grove, though also down-to-earth, a dad, plays drums barefoot, etc) and the two mythical energies match and amplify each other to produce a force of nature.

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