Pet Fox, Crescent Ridge, Broken Head played Notch – 1/5

A local triple-bill to cut through the January doldrums.

Good shows in January always feel something like an oasis in a (cold) desert, particularly less than a week into the new year. Thankfully the I Book Things folks are already on in it 2023, and Thursday night offered up the first of the year’s free gigs at Notch Brewing’s Brighton locale.

Pet Fox – the project fronted by Ovlov’s Theo Hartlett – sport some pretty irresistible melodic indie rock charm that’s unsurprisingly made them a mainstay on bills around town the past couple of years. I’m always happy to see them there, including closing out this show.

Crescent Ridge, who hail from south of the city in Stoughton, brought a grungier tone to the middle of the bill. I liked what I caught at Nice, A Fest back in July, and was glad to catch a slightly longer set from a less festival-harried perspective last week.

Broken Head, meanwhile, were the only band of the night I’d yet to see, and probably delivered my favorite set. Sharing membership with CR, the four-piece zone in a sweet spot of driving, muscular shoegaze with a not unwelcome bit of Swervedriver in its DNA, and play it plenty loud. Bonus points for teasing out the heavier points of Pavement’s “Grounded” to close out their set.

See photos of all three bands below.