Cryogeyser, Deadharrie, and Tidepools songwriting shined in an intimate alt-acoustic showcase

Involuntarily grounded by a weather-induced 24 hour layover, the winds of chance swept me to the doors of the legendary Will’s Pub in Orlando for an unplanned opportunity to witness an intimate acoustic showcase featuring a trio of burgeoning talents.

A proper dive, Will’s Pub is an eclectic venue permeated with the kind of well earned personality accumulated from hosting decades of underground music. Nearly every available inch of the venue is adorned with a thousand stickers bearing the mark of wayward travelers and hard-working bands from all corners of the globe. Vintage tin beer signs share the walls with reverent velvet paintings of cultural demigods ranging from Elvis to Kenny Rogers and beyond, alongside gig posters from days past including several iconic original Frank Kozik screenprints; left of the dial trophies that communicate the depth and breadth of Will’s Pub's credentials with a silent, humble authenticity.

Tidepools opened the evening with the band’s first all-acoustic performance, stripping away electric adornments from their dreamily shoegaze-adjacent sound to reveal the handcrafted framework that lies beneath. Blossoming from the stage with the warm sensation of springtime’s earliest days, deep basslines and brilliant guitar chords shined like dawn’s rays over a slumbering landscape, slowly building into a radiant morning. Shaking away the lingering shadows, Tidepools turned their gaze towards the sun, basking in the warmth with restrained but uplifting renditions of tracks from their upcoming EP and selections from their previous releases.

Recalling the big, emotive stylings of 90s singer-songwriter focused alt-rock, Deadharrie captivated the audience with an intricate set of deeply personal songs flecked with infinite shades of darkness. There was a massive quality to Deadharrie’s set that despite the spartan presence found its way deep into every corner of the room, bending reality around the singularity of unvarnished poetic expression that simmered and swelled with the unseen magnetism of the tides themselves. Introspective nearly to the point of reclusive, Deadharrie’s songwriting offered a perspective on life from deep within the artist’s psyche, giving voice to the sensation of futility in the face of unrelenting challenges but emphasizing the strength required to stand in defiance of despondency with chin held high and fingers ever grasping for the promise of a better tomorrow.

Typically enveloped in the gossamer waves of a multi-instrumental arrangement, Cryogeyser embraced the all-acoustic nature of the evening with a set that distilled the band’s sound down to the elemental presence of a single guitar strummed by frontwoman Shawn Marom. Cryogeyser’s confessional and frank approach to songwriting was on full display, emphasizing quiet resilience entwined within the words and chords. Trembling vocals told tales of love and loss, unadorned and brilliant in the uncanny ability to evoke emotions from ephemeral vignettes on everyday moments that resonate with universal significance, while retaining the intimate quality of private pages tucked between faded photographs in a bedside drawer.

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