Stage Buzz: The World Is a Beautiful Place…
If ever there was an emo band you had to see live to “get it,” this is that emo band. Formed in 2009 in Willimantic, Connecticut, The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die has almost as many band members as it does words in its name, and everybody brings something to the stage.
Helmed first by Thomas Diaz (and second by the pulverizing desperation in us all), TWIABP blend lazy mid-90s twinkle with post-rock shoegaze akin to Explosions in the Sky. The resulting tango between urgency and minimalism gives the impression not so much of screaming one’s lungs out atop a mountain, but of whimpering mightily—which is close! And boy, can TWIABP make a lot of sound.
Should you swing by Bottom Lounge tomorrow (Into It. Over It. headlines) expect to hear all manner of musical instruments—guitar, cello, horn, synthesizer—competing for a spot in TWIABP’s hyper-layered soundscape.
@ Bottom Lounge, Chicago: 6 p.m. Saturday 3/1 ($13)
– Matt Pollock
Category: Featured, Stage Buzz, Weekly
