Google search Sheer Mag and you’ll quickly notice a pattern. “Sheer Mag Sounds Like Taylor Hanson Fronting Thin Lizzy,” reads a recent Portland Mercury headline. “With Thin Lizzy and Skynyrd riffs, Sheer Mag subvert and repurpose the crude attitude of cock rock,” says Pitchfork.
Yes, the Lizzy comparisons are rife, but guitarist Kyle Seely isn’t mad about it. “Thin Lizzy is the greatest band in the entire f*cking world. So it's cool,” he told Rolling Stone back in December. And while the band does make reference to the '70s-rockers’ “Whiskey in the Jar” on their own single, “Sit and Cry,” pigeonholing Sheer Mag into some sort of weird Phil Lynott rip is kind-of missing the point. Equating lead singer Christina Halladay to Taylor Hanson? That just sounds like ammo for their next single.
Because in between the shiny, sometimes campy guitar solos and '70s rock riffs you’d expect to find on your parents’ records, Sheer Mag is fiery rock 'n’ roll with some fight. Having just played Coachella weekend one, the Philadelphia five-piece rolled into the Bunkhouse on Wednesday, bringing their pop-soaked, lo-fi punk grit to Vegas, and though the Bunkhouse wasn’t packed, the group chugged through each song, one spry, glossy guitar lick after the other.
“Paloma walks home at night from the maquiladora/And eight days later, no one has saw her/Sometimes she worked late/don't that tell ya just what’s at stake?” Halladay sang on opener “Can’t Stop Fighting.” It’s easy to miss the brazen lyrics that tackle violence, sexism and misogyny under all those candied riffs and shiny guitar harmonies—but they’re there. “All my life I've felt the eye of the catcall/we're striking back baby, and you can find me in the vanguard,” she continues on the same song.
In a nutshell, every track on Sheer Mag’s latest EP, III, reflects various female experiences, frustrations and attitudes, filtered through Halladay’s acid tongue, high-pitched vocals and feminist lens. On “Worth the Tears” we got a glimpse into Halladay’s aching heart as she moves on from a past love: “I wrote you a letter to tell you how I feel/You won't read it though/You don't wanna know/But at least I tried.”
As for the band, rhythm guitarist Matt Palmer joined brothers Kyle (guitar) and Hart Seely (bass) for an explosive live show. On one song in particular, the chord structure was so similar to The Darkness’ “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” it was hard not to strike a power pose and bust out the air guitar. If anyone questioned whether or not Sheer Mag is punk, Halladay’s burning, sandpapery vocals and intense scowl provided the answer (yes, they are). If I had one complaint, it was that I couldn’t hear Hallasay's raspy, evocative vocals enough, but Sheer Mag's glossy, Cheap Trick-esque riffage made up for it. And despite not saying a word throughout the entire show, the quintet appeased the small, cheering crowd when it returned to the stage for “Button Up” as the encore.
After the show I asked Halladay for a copy of the setlist … but she said they didn’t have one. Instead, the singer offered to write them down in my phone, and we chatted about her experience playing Coachella (it wasn’t her favorite). Considering the SoCal festival’s gates weren’t even open when Sheer Mag went on, one can only hope the Philly rockers got the crowd they deserved today for weekend two.
Setlist:
“Can’t Stop Fighting”
“Nobody’s Baby”
“Hard Lovin’”
“Sit and Cry”
“Worth the Tears”
“Fan the Flames”
“Night Isn’t Bright”
“Point Breeze”
Encore:
“Button Up”
