Raw Bell, Vic Firecracker, Unmade Bed played Faces Brewing – 1/14

A first venture to Malden’s Faces, a venue/brewery/restaurant making some noise north of Boston.

Housed in a former bank (vaults and all) in downtown Malden, Faces is a relatively new venture that got its start amid the, uh, challenging conditions of the pandemic. Things have been going strong ever since though, and the building’s back room has been hosting a steady stream of notable local (and occasionally touring) acts in the past year or so. Former O’Brien’s booker Ryan Agate handles the space, so you know the curation is on-point.

I’d been looking for a chance to check out the room and got a good one on Saturday night, with a four-band bill featuring Ruin the Nite, Raw Bell, Vic Firecracker and Unmade Bed.

Raw Bell – the new solo project from guitarist Rob Laakso – was the name that pulled me in. Laakso is a familiar face for a certain type of indie rock consumer, as a member of Kurt Vile’s Violators and local shoegaze legends Swirlies, and Raw Bell is his psych-tinged, mostly-instrumental venture into bandleader territory. The project were a power trio on stage that utilized a tight rhythm section as foundation for Laakso’s fretboard workouts. The set also turned into a treat for true Boston indie aficionados with a one-song reunion of Laakso’s math-y 90s band The Wicked Farleys, of which Raw Bell drummer Ken Bernard was also a member.

Earlier in the night, Unmade Bed and Vic Firecracker also got into the alt-rock spirit with loud, scorching sets. Now rounded out by two members of local cult favorites Me In Capris, Vic Firecracker are a reactivated iteration of Bob Logan’s 90s post-punk/post-hardcore outfit. The band’s cited influences range from Mission of Burma to Neil Young, and if that’s a nexus that sounds appealing, this was a set for you.

Unmade Bed, meanwhile, are a band so new they don’t even seem to a Bandcamp I can link to. I heard in passing this was also their first-ever show, which is always a fun thing to catch. Their driving guitar attack, punctuated by some Mascis-y melodic soloing, sounded great.

Regrettably I couldn’t stick around for Ruin the Nite’s closing set (I had midnight movie tickets), which does expose a slight downfall to Faces for us Bostonians: it’s only a few miles out, but still a solid 25 minutes by car. That said, the ride won’t deter me from venturing back; the room boasts great sound, great light and great bands, and we can always use more of all of that.

See photos from the night below.