by Will Bishop

Thursday night marked the return of longstanding KRFH 105.1 program Local Lixx, an artist spotlight dedicated to both local and not so local acts. This year, Arcata’s own Kept kicked it off. It was an intimate affair — just the band, some techs and a handful of eager music fans crammed into a small room nested deep within the subterranean underbelly of Gist Hall.

When entering the space there’s a perceptible pressure shift from the sterile halls surrounding it. Immediately you’re met with posters of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. It’s like stepping into an especially cool teenager’s room — one that’s really, really obsessed with wires.

Kept immediately demonstrated that they’re all about movement. Their style is nimble and explosive, evoking acts like Palm — a group they cited as one of their main influences — and their pop-inflected math rock experimentation. Hypnotic looping melodies that drift you through space interrupted by sudden abrasive punches of noise and dexterous fills. At times, the guitar cuts in so heavy on distortion it’s like radio static from an otherworldly transmission. This tension between melodic, almost jazzy passages and blasts of angular noise is the core of their sound and makes for a transfixing live performance.

The band consists of Elinor Carbone on vocals, Sam Oetinger and Jack Hallinan on guitar, Vivian Dawn Spear on bass and Eli Featherstone on drums, with Featherstone being an active student at Cal Poly Humboldt majoring in Early Childhood Development. They’re a playful bunch, always joking around and keeping things loose — a stark contrast to their coiled and precise musical style.

It’s only the band’s fifth show, having made their debut May 30 of this year, and yet there’s a real self-assuredness to their presence. Early in the performance while technical pains were still being resolved, Featherstone and Oetinger launched into an improvised jam while the rest sorted out an audio issue. Little things like that really project an all around confidence that’s rarely seen in a group so new.

Toward the end of a song, Featherstone’s headphones fell down over his eyes, and he swiftly embraced the opportunity to mime being a robot. During their post-show interview, Hallinan sat down on an amplifier, only to quickly be sat on by Dawn Spear. 

They’re supportive and quick to compliment each other. 

“Eli goes crazy, nasty hard, Carbone said, in regards to Featherstone’s drumming.

It’s a great dynamic to watch, especially in this environment where one could easily fool oneself into thinking that they’re sitting in on a very polished band practice.

Kept’s EP, This Much I’m Certain Of, can be found on your streaming platform of choice. Tune in every Thursday at 8 p.m. for more Lixx and remember: hot girls listen to KRFH.

Will Bishop is a Cal Poly Humboldt journalism major. He is prone to writing essays about things that bother him, and fictional works about things that also bother him but in different ways. A highly bothered individual, and a lover of cinema, music, and large trees/rocks. He can often be found in the woods, dancing to bring down the sky.