It's not your fault if your brain can't retain any information about the Richmond, Virginia shoegaze crew Keep. After all, they're the ones who decided to call themselves Keep, not you. It's a band name so aggressively forgettable that it must be that way on purpose. But if you came somehow break through the mental wall of lodging this band name in your mind, you may discover that Keep make some excellently gauzy music.
Members of Keep have played in Richmond-area punk bands like Slump and Black Button, but the band's sound isn't as heavy as that resume might lead you to believe. Instead, Keep have a shining, shimmering take on textured fuzz-guitar music, with just a dash of synth in there. They've been around for a while, and they impressed me with their 2023 album Happy In Here. Now, they're announcing plans for a new LP called Almost Static, and lead single "Fun Facts" is a keeper.
In a press release, the band says, "'Fun Facts' is about feeling checked out of your life. It’s about making peace with the fact that everything feels pointless. Everything is happening around you and you feel helpless." Damn. The "Fun Facts" video has more roadkill than I was hoping to see, but if everything is pointless, you might as well look. Below, check out that video, as well as the Almost Static tracklist and the upcoming dates where Keep will open for scene OGs Turnover.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Fun Facts"
02 "Smile Down (Into Nothing)"
03 "Decoy"
04 "Bermuda"
05 "New Jewelry"
06 "Almost Static"
07 "No Pulse"
08 "Sodawater"
09 "Gasoline"
10 "Touch Tone Tab"
11 "Hurt A Fly"
TOUR DATES:
6/07 - Virginia Beach, VA @ The Dome *
6/09 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring *
6/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia *
6/11 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues *
6/12-13 - New York, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount *
6/14 - Huntington, NY @ Paramount Theater *
* with Turnover
Almost Static is out 5/30.
