NO KIDDING

School’s out, and the teenage siblings of The Dollheads have a packed summer vacation ahead. Fresh off the release of May EP Et Cetera, the pop-punk band has touring dates set for Arizona, California and Utah, and an overseas debut in London at the Loud Women Fest in September. 

The Las Vegas trio—16-year-old Angela Avery (lead vocals/guitar), 15-year-old Samantha Avery (bass) and 13-year-old Austin Avery (drums)—began performing in 2022, but they’ve been jamming since elementary school. The music of Rancid, the Ramones and Green Day raised these young rockers, who recently made their Punk Rock Bowling debut. 

“As a performer and a band, I think that was the best weekend of my life,” Austin says. “Watching bands like Rancid, Bad Religion, The Interrupters and Dropkick Murphys and being able to play … I loved it even more.”

“I crowd-surfed for The Casualties,” Angela adds, grinning. 

The trio returned to Downtown’s National Southwestern Recording to create Et Cetera, a tightly produced sequel to last year’s What Teenage Angst. “We still wanted to stick to that theme of our experiences being teenagers and growing up,” Angela says, “but we also wanted to work more on the musical aspect, getting the layers in and maturing with the way we were writing out words.” 

Despite their ages, the Averys are hardly a “kid band” at this point. The Dollheads have played every major Downtown music venue and have a fan base that includes UFC president Dana White, recently seen rocking their merch at an event. Local acts including White Noise, Pure Sport, Elevated Undergrounds and Secos have also rallied around the trio. “It was like joining a family,” Samantha says. 

The Dollheads will headline a back-to-school show at SoulBelly BBQ on August 5. linktr.ee/dollheads

Past Precedent

And now, a moment of silence for Luxury Furniture Store. No, the dreamy darkwave trio, known for its shape-shifting sound and gloriously gothic aesthetic, hasn’t split up. But it has changed its name—to Past Self. 

“We just didn’t feel like the previous name was very evocative of what we were doing,” explains Will Kim (aka Proteus), singer and guitarist of the Vegas-based band. “We wanted our audience and new fans to get an understanding of what to expect when they hear the name.” 

With that also comes the announcement of new material. Kim, along with bassist Julian West (aka Spektor) and synth player Holly Haywood (aka Aether), recently finished recording a new EP as a followup to their hazy debut, 2021’s Bedrot. 

“It’s a huge update from what we’ve been up to for the past two years,” Kim says. “There’s stories and references to what we’ve been through in recent times. It’s very introspective. We actually tried to come down to earth a little bit.” 

Keeping the music as close to its original state as possible also took precedence this time around, he says: “With Bedrot, we would have an initial spark, and then we would chisel away at it so much that some of the songs would lose the purpose of the initial emotion.” 

With its first West Coast tour behind them, Past Self is looking to expand its fanbase with more out-of-state shows and new costumes, similar to the way Slipknot swaps masks for each album era, Haywood explains.“The visual is the bait.” linktr.ee/pastself

HELLOS AND GOODBYES

New off-Strip venue the Industrial Sound kicked off its Far Out West concert series last month with a set that will see a vinyl release as The Rhyolite Sound’s new live record. Those in attendance also bid farewell to drummer A.J. Palluck, who’s leaving the band to “focus more on my family and [studio] Sonic Rodeo,” according to a post on his Instagram.

The 10,000-square-foot Industrial Sound, a new division of the Industrial Event Space on Industrial Road, boasts a 650-person indoor capacity, concert-grade audio systems, advanced lighting and video tech and an outdoor area that can hold around 2,000 concertgoers. Far Out West continues on June 17. 

LISTEN HERE

Secos, the desert rockers who recently downsized to a four-piece, have released Loveseat, a five-track EP just in time for summer. Desert Island Boys also dropped an EP called Chazzed Bangers. Singer and guitarist Miles V. offers up stripped-down single “Melancholy Phrase.” And if you like Dominic Fike from HBO series Euphoria, you’ll love local singer-songwriter Juno Rucker’s new guitar-laden track “Pretty People.” 

ALSO

Vegas-bred rapper Dizzy Wright returns home with the Proud 2 Pay residency, a 10-show series, starting on June 22, and fans can “pay what they want to attend,” according to his social media. Tickets include a meet-and-greet with Wright, who has also recruited Vegas bassist CoCo Jenkins to play in his band. Shows are limited to 60 people and set to take place at the intimate Griffin Rehearsal Studios (for more info, visit dizzywright.com). … Desert Honeypot and Pulsar Presents join forces for their first Heavy Honeypot, a showcase of female metal, featuring touring acts Savage Master and Crossed Hearts and Las Vegas’ Riyah and Sorrowseed at the Dive Bar on June 15. … In psych-rock news, Hunter’s Briefcase will play an EP release show with Pure Sport, Post NC and White Noise at Fergusons Downtown on June 24, while Viaje Nahual has begun hosting a cumbia goth party called Tropidarks. Oddfellows held the first event in May and more are in the works. The five-piece, set to hit the road this July, also announced its album release show at the Dive Bar on July 6 with Portland’s Gata Galáctica and local bilingual songstress Dama Vicke. 

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