DS Show Review & Gallery: Touché Amoré w/ Soul Glo, Soft Blue Shimmer and Portrayal of Guilt (Bottom Lounge, Chicago)
As I power through the daily grind of being alive, every once in a while I find myself in a place that can only be described as an emotional lull. Waking up, getting ready for work, and dealing with crowded buses that are always late, I feel my life wasted at a job that barely covers the bills. Then, I commute back home to prepare for the next day, repeating the cycle.
Throughout these periods of emotional drought, I have found that music becomes background noise—just something that fills the gaps between conversations at work. I forget the reason I enjoy it or was drawn into these subcultures and alternative scenes in the first place. In a way, this may be by design, as it is significantly easier to maintain the high levels of unrealistic hyper-efficiency that fuel a capitalist system when the average worker is too tired to feel anything other than the need to produce for fear of financial instability. At the same time, empty promises of happiness, love, and success are forced upon us by a constant barrage of advertisements and popular media—including mainstream music.
But where did all the rage, all the sadness, the loneliness, the joy, love, euphoria, and the sense of community and connection to something larger than us go? The answer is incredibly obvious and within reach. Sifting through the dullness of routine and pushing beyond it, music that comes from introspection, exploring our human condition instead of merely being a commodity to be sold, answers that question. It’s a matter of once again paying attention to the message, the delivery, and sharing those experiences with others.
Seeing the flyer for this show felt like a wake-up call, a short break from the bleakness, overloaded with emotions and a journey exploring a vast range of sounds, rhythms, and vocal deliveries. The entire show felt like an appropriate allegory for the human spirit when it’s not subdued by societal expectations to be quiet and reserved at all times.
Like an oasis in the middle of the desert, Soft Blue Shimmer started their set by creating an atmosphere that I would describe as almost ethereal. Meredith Ramond, with her beautiful and delicate voice, elevated the Bottom Lounge into a realm of tranquility. It was a mesmerizing combination of peacefulness and melancholia.
Soft Blue Shimmer’s sound is difficult to categorize into a specific genre. Not that it ultimately matters, but risking criticism from genre purists, I would describe it as a blend of shoegaze with elements of alternative or indie pop. The guitar riffs are very melodic and complement the dynamic changes well. To me, those musical shifts in tempo and volume, contrasted with the soothing and steady vocal delivery, were the highlight of their set and helped me connect with their music and the tone they set.
One thing worth noting is that, although their lyrics are not overtly political, they performed with signs—one that said “ACAB” and another supporting Free Palestine.
As their set neared its end, I felt it was time to return to reality from the place the band had transported us to—and realized I could have stayed there listening to them for hours.
Had I not been familiar with the next band, Portrayal of Guilt, before the show, the musical whiplash from the previous band to this one would have sent me right to the hospital. The Texas trio took us to the opposite end of the spectrum. With a chaotic blend of black metal, hardcore, and punk, they created a dark ambiance driven by heavily distorted guitars and guttural screams, with misanthropic lyrics.
Their performance was the least dynamic of the evening in terms of physical movement, but they made up for it with the intensity of their music. The bass, in combination with the drums, drove the foundation of the music, preventing the musical tension they created from resolving, while a barrage of oppressive riffs filled the room with dissonant chords.
At this point, the tone of the show was the complete opposite of the first band’s, and the dark melodies—if they can even be called melodies—painted a picture of solitude, grief, blasphemy, and despair, which the audience related to as catharsis.
Portrayal of Guilt’s music draws heavily from several genres, which makes it somewhat difficult to categorize under a specific style. That said, they take some of the best elements and make them work: the speed of punk, hardcore breakdowns for the spin-kickers, and the typical blast beats, dissonant riffs, and high-pitched gutturals of black metal. It’s the perfect amalgamation of these genres.
For the third act of the evening, Soul Glo took the stage. This band embodies chaos. Unpredictable and energetic, they brought a completely different energy to the show. Their music is fast, raw, and confrontational—pure irreverence.
Unconstrained by the stage’s boundaries, the band’s vocalist, Pierce Jordan, turned the entire venue into an extension of the stage. At one point, showing complete disregard for the venue’s barriers, Jordan jumped over and immersed himself in the audience while security ran around, trying to predict what he would do next. His vocal delivery consists of high-pitched screaming, intentionally amelodic, alternating between his regular singing voice and aggressive, at times chilling, screams.
Musically speaking, Soul Glo also draws from several genres. Their music is straight-up hardcore punk, and I doubt anyone would argue with that label, but they push boundaries with hip-hop elements and even incorporate funk and soul elements, along with audio samples throughout.
Their performance and lyrics are politically charged; they vocally supported the Palestinian struggle, and their songs reflect these values. What I found particularly interesting, as I analyzed the emotional range of each band individually and throughout the show, is that Soul Glo and Portrayal of Guilt are two sides of the same coin. Soul Glo expresses anger born from frustration—with the system, ourselves, and others—evident in their rebellious and confrontational attitude, while Portrayal of Guilt comes from a place of pain and despair. Both are equally valid and represent different aspects of how we experience the world. Their ferocity and attitude were contagious.
As the show neared its end, the crowd’s energy was revitalized as Jeremy Bolm, lead singer of the evening’s headliners, Touché Amoré, joined the rest of the band on stage. They began their set, and it was evident how much of an impact this band had on the crowd. Smiles lit up the venue as fans gazed with unwavering fixation, following every move Jeremy made, engrossed by the music and lyrics of the songs.
The relationship between the crowd and performers was mutual as Jeremy performed the deeply personal and emotional lyrics with a constant smile throughout the show. It felt like the physical barrier in front of the stage formed a metaphysical mirror, allowing the crowd and band to reflect their shared connection.
For more than a decade and a half, Touché Amoré has been delivering their signature emotional post-hardcore with some of the most honest and personal lyrics. It’s easy to feel spoken to, and I believe this happens due to the vocal delivery, which is more screamed spoken-word than straight-up singing, contrasting with the highly melodic riffs. Every song is a heart-wrenching confession, spoken in words that most of us can’t find.
The performance included a variety of songs from their entire repertoire, including some new tracks. Most people knew the lyrics, and those not moshing sang along throughout the show.
Touché Amoré did an incredible job of bringing the crowd back from this journey. It was a cathartic experience, allowing everyone to participate in an emotional experience.
Still wearing the biggest smile in the room, Jeremy and the rest of the band said their goodbyes, and as the final chords of their set echoed through the venue, there was a lingering sense of connection—an emotional bond that transcended the music—before returning to the monotony of daily life.
This article’s photos are a collaboration effort with @Maximilian_Pegasus who kindly provided the images of Touché Amoré featured in this article.
Check out the rest of the photos of this amazing show below!