Sixteen Deluxe

Sixteen Deluxe

The raw, warm rush of reverb that pulsed through the dark interior of Encore signaled the return of Sixteen Deluxe, giving way amid psychedelic projections to the warped afterburners of "Warmjets" igniting like an anthem for a Daydream Nation. A decade beyond the locals' demise, the reunion of Sixteen Deluxe, complemented by the release of early demos and live shots on Year One (Bunkhaus), coursed through a nostalgia of Austin hits, but braced by a fervor and uncompromising power that salved any wounds in the wash of distortion. Cloaked behind the wave of her dark hair, Carrie Clark scowled "Shanesong" with an unhinged intensity "between sick and stoned" as guitarist Frenchie Smith arced wicked riffs in the corner. "Baby Headrush" quaked in a tumultuous percussive pummel, careening against the wall of fans pressed tight and absorbing at the front of the stage, while highlight "Idea" swallowed halcyon slacker daze in a ripped haze. The tight guitar loop of "Red River Anger Management Society" swirled behind Smith's vocals, fomenting a hypnotic pull, but it was closing cover of Big Star's "Kangaroo" that set the night in perspective, Clark introducing it as a song that "started everything for us" and letting her voice linger envelopingly into the climaxing crush of feedback.