Staff Editor on March 5th, 2023

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Taleen Kali took the stage at the Moroccan Lounge on Friday night with arms swung high and screams of adulation from the crowd. There was reason to be in a celebratory mood, of course. The day marked the release of her album, “Flower of Life.”

Almost immediately, the band blasted into the buzzy and speedy title track, “Flower of Life.” If anyone in the audience was going through any hardship, the message of the song must have hit home, “We have been through / the Tower of Hell / We will see, too / Fire desire … We will survive / We will survive / We will survive.” It was a song of encouragement about some rough couple of years. The band next played “Crusher” with a drum intro that gave way to the melodic sounds that just might have been influenced by the Cranberries.

Kali was thoroughly enjoying the night. She started the set wearing some dark shades, but after a few high kicks, those shades ended up elsewhere. Midway through the set — which featured the 10 songs on “Flower of Life,” played in order — she mentioned, “I think we sold this f*cking place out.”

“Trash Talk” was introduced to the crowd with, “If you have people talking shit about you, I want you to sing back ‘Trash Talk.’” The song was for that boss or frenemy where one only has the courage to confront in one’s mind, “Trash talk / I will take you out / Trash talk / I will take you down.”

As the set came to an end, the music took a softer tone with the final trio of songs, “Summer of Sound,” “Vague Flesh” and “Spirit Plane.” The quieter sounds broke out into a massive jam as the set came to a conclusion with guitars held high and vertical.

Opening the night were Warsaw Pact and Tremours. For Warsaw Pact, speed was the name of the game with guitars driving the sound and interlaced with haunting vocals. Tremours had heavy beats that were dialed down to make way for the dreamy vocals that carried all into quiet contemplation, but the volume was amped up at the end to push everyone back out into the world. DJing the night was Alex Moore of Livingmore.

Some of the local bands sighted in the crowd that were out to enjoy the album release show included Crisis Actor, Jagged Baptist Club and Night Talks.

Photos and recap by Notes From Vivace