Music for Emergencies

If the current San Francisco punk-rock scene can be described as a tsunami wave of distortion-pedal–enthused, home-recorded garage, then the Hospitals are a little tugboat just past the horizon, flipping out on ferocious sounds outside the flux of the tide. A Hospitals gig reliably includes Adam Stonehouse howling over an abused drum set while Chris Gunn adds a wall of obtuse shrieks from a pedal-heavy electric guitar. Stonehouse also recently added to the traditionally duo-sized outfit Long Legged Woman’s Justin Flowers on an extra drum kit and Alex Cargyle on guitar. After two full-lengths on In the Red Records (where a gaggle of bands directly and indirectly Hospitals-derived hide out), the band recently self-released Hairdryer Peace, which effortlessly melted the expectations of noise enthusiasts as it actually delivered on its promise of “unlistenable,” if premeditated, swirling chaos. It isn’t unusual to wait ages for the Portland, Oregon, transplants to arrange, rearrange, deconstruct, and finally delicately balance the skyscraper-sized amount of toys that distribute their sound. But all complaints abate as even casual observers are pulled into a magnetic exploration of the painstaking, cut-and-paste bedroom-analog work.

The Baths and Photobooth open.
Fri., July 3, 9:30 p.m., 2009