MUSIC ARCHIVES White Lung, Heliotropes, and Hunters Bolt from the Basement and into the Sun at 4Knots
by Hilary Hughes
As bands that thrive in the dank, dark recesses of basements across the country, you’d think White Lung, Heliotropes and Hunters, in particular, would be a bit out of their element playing a major pedestrian intersection on a pier at the South Street Seaport. Kate Spade shopping bags and terrified, Citibike-helming tourists aren’t so commonplace at DIY venues; the ear-splitting enfilade and stage antics that go along with the sounds we hold so dear from these bands weren’t crafted in broad daylight, but perfected one string-shredding, amp-blowing show at a time. 4Knots brought these bands together for an afternoon, gave them two stages and a Nantucket Reds-sporting crowd to play for and showed us all that context isn’t everything, and that, if anything, a change in scenery makes you revisit exactly why these songs are so addictive and fun to mosh to–even if the mosh pit’s got a few beach balls bouncing around it.
It could’ve been the merciless delivery of each “I WANT AWAY FROM YOU!” from White Lung’s Mish Way during “Take The Mirror.” Or the fancy footwork of Heliotropes set to their marathon strumming (and their subsequent “great vibrations”), or the gymnastic moves and vocal lunges of Hunters. It could’ve been the fact that the fist-pumping panda making its way through the crowd was really, really into it. Hell, it could’ve been a euphoric hallucination brought on by Bud Light Lime and a heatwave that wouldn’t quit, but whatever it was, the punk vibes present and accounted for at 4Knots provided some of the most satiating moments seen over the course of the festival’s eight hours. “It was interesting to have our sound traveling and not stopping and bouncing off a basement wall or something!” laughed Hunters’ Derek Watson after their set. We wholeheartedly agree, even if our ears are still ringing (and sunburned).