Merchandise played Great Scott – 10/7

Tampa, FL’s Merchandise returned to Great Scott earlier this month for a show in support of their latest full length, A Corpse Wired for Sound. Brooklyn duo Public Memory opened. 

Having already shot Violent Femmes across town earlier that night, I managed to catch most of this show as well with the late start (Great Scott pushes its already-pretty-late 9pm door time to 10 on most Fridays).

Merchandise’s early work reveled in a snarling post-punk style, but with time the group has edged toward a gentler, jangle-y-er sound. While I must admit to preferring their 2012-13 era – where the rawness of their earliest output intersected with shoegaze textures and particularly ambitious songwriting – the more compact and accessible approach of Corpse is still a good look for them. The new material sounded great, and we got a few older favorites as well.

A small array of red lightbulbs illuminated Public Memory’s opening set, which nicely reinforced the atmosphere of their icy synth-driven tunes.

Photos from both sets below.