Performing at Royale nightclub in Downtown Boston in front of a sold-out crowd, indie band BLACKSTARKIDS lit up the venue with an electric set before turning the stage over to singer Christian Leave and headliner beabadoobee.
BLACKSTARKIDS — a trio from outside of Kansas City consisting of TyFaizon, Deiondre and TheBabeGabe — dropped their fourth album last month “Puppies Forever.” The vibrant 12-track record is reminiscent of early alternative rock bands of the 2000s with muted vocals, synthy guitars and bouncy drums.
The band’s creative direction with “Puppies Forever” was inspired by the movies and shows the three consumed throughout the years, the band members said. Deiondre said watching films by indie entertainment company A24 such as “Lady Bird” and other coming-of-age movies such as “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” inspired their songwriting.
“We wanted the album to feel a bit more grounded in reality,” Deiondre said in an interview.
Working over the span of a few months last winter, the three of them moved between their shared house and an Airbnb for the songwriting process.
“We were just getting drunk, and writing songs, and then getting drunk again, and then writing some songs,” TyFaizon said.
He explained that each of them would write on their own before coming back to collaborate on one song.
“It all comes together to make one product,” he said.
The album sparks with a mixture of hip-hop beats, slick vocals backed by electronic synth pieces and futuristic chords popcorned with lyrics of pop culture references. Deiondre described the album as “existential, fun, colorful.”
“Overall though, it feels good to listen to,” Deiondre said. “Colorful and bright.”
That’s exactly what Friday’s show at the Royale turned out to be. Spotlights danced to the beat, strobes swung across the crowd, and, in the case of their nostalgic indie-rock song “ALL COPS ARE BASTARDS*,” the bulbs flashed blue and red like a police car siren. The heavy rock guitar and blasting drums further energized the crowd.
“When we were [performing] ‘ACAB,’ that was probably our best reaction to the song,” Deiondre said after the show. “The people out there were really receptive.”
This energy began with their opening track, a smashing, echoey piece off their 2020 album “SURF” titled “SOUNDS LIKE FUN.” It’s a brief two minutes of a verse and chorus, yet their assertion of the line “think I wanna be a superstar” 30 seconds in previewed the rest of their set.
BLACKSTARKIDS smoothly transitioned into their second high-powered track, a rich rock song off of their new album “JIMMY NEUTRON.” With the excitement from the first track merging with their next, the crowd was eager to hear more.
They cooled down with their third piece, “FRANKIE MUNIZ,” a groovy, airy track that felt like a refreshing road trip by the beach. Halfway through, TheBabeGabe conducted the audience to sway their arms to the beat and enjoy the band’s performance while awash in a magenta glow.
BLACKSTARKIDS played seven songs from their handful of album releases, proving their versatility in a range of genres and highlighting their musical inspirations. “FIGHT CLUB” leaps off from the first beat with a futuristic synth-pop background track and smooth rapping from TheBabeGabe, while “TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN” uses a funky sound clip in the background which sounded similar to the recognizable sounds of pop band MGMT, which the band says is an inspiration.
Following the second opener Leave, beabadoobee’s act was warmly welcomed onto the stage by the crowd. She hopped directly into a smooth strumming piece off her 2019 EP “Space Cadet,” titled “Sun More Often” that begins slow then warms up with drums reminiscent of Death Cab for Cutie tracks. Next she began “Care,” the first track off her 2020 debut album “Fake It Flowers.”
With powerful, clear instruments, rumbling guitar and drums, and a colorful lighting design, her performance struck a chord with the audience who rolled with the emotion of the song. The way the band collaborated is heard clearly, and beabadoobee also interacted directly with the audience who threw gifts up to her between songs.
BLACKSTARKIDS is steadily growing into a revolutionary indie band. After touring with indie-rock band Glass Animals earlier this fall, they’ve been on the road with beabadoobee and have shows lined up with her until early December. Performing at this scale on a cross-country tour has been new for the group, yet it’s allowed them to visit new cities and perfect their concerts. Deiondre mentioned that the nerves never really disappear.
“There’s this pit in your stomach feeling with each show, no matter how many times we perform,” he said. “As soon as we start our first song, we’re just kind of on autopilot and we’re just having fun. It’s a super interactive experience, just having that many people look at you.”
TheBabeGabe said that BLACKSTARKIDS have “so much future” ahead of them.
“We just learned that everything’s gonna be okay,” TheBabeGabe said about putting the newest album together. “At the end, when you have this amazing song you just made, you realize some of these problems don’t really matter because I’m in the room with my best friends.”
The group is focused on finishing their current tour before working on a new project, but they have ultimate goals for the future.
“To be legends,” TheBabeGabe said. “Be something people talk about forever, be an inspiration for not just Black kids, well, definitely for Black kids, but for anybody who can relate to us.”
