Beauts Citadel High School, Halifax NS, July 9

Photo: Richard Lann
Published Jul 10, 2016
Local noisemakers Beauts officially opened the main stage on Gridlock's second day (July 9), drawing an impressive early crowd and delivering a pristine, polished set of songs.Providing an East Coast answer to Japandroids' celebratory rock'n'roll, the band blasted away any grogginess or lingering hangovers from the evening before with their sharp, layered sound — one that shouldn't have left listeners surprised when the members announced their affinity for the bill-sharing Beach Slang. They conjured up a delightful post-punk storm that combined an aggressive rhythm section, dual guitars bouncing off each other and forging melodic angles and attention-grabbing power vocals that proved a refreshing alternative to the trope of the gravelly-voiced, sing-shouting frontman.
There was endearing banter about the band members crying at Waxahatchee's early afternoon tear-jerking performance and plenty of gratitude for being included in the festival, though the between-song transitions felt a little too long and a little too awkward at times. That became easily forgivable, though, once Beauts launched into cuts off their excellent recent EP Waves/Wash like "Covers," "Ether" and the set-closing title track.