Mo Dotti + Blue Zero

Information

Pop Mutations & Freakender present:
Mo Dotti + Blue Zero

• Special Guests
  Saturday 6th December
  The Old Hairdresser's
  18+

Mo Dotti -
An accomplished work of punk ethereality, Mo Dotti's debut record Opaque (out September 2024) exemplifies the mix of Dinosaur Jr.-esque clamor cut with sweet Sundays-worthy melodies that the Los Angeles four piece have been meticulously crafting over the course of their brief but compelling discography. Building upon the glow-in-the-dark fuzz of 2020’s Blurring EP and the psychedelic pastiche of 2022’s Guided Imagery, Opaque showcases the sound of a band that has figured out how to bend and shape abstract washes of noise in and around memorable pop hooks into songs that reach for the stars.

A formidable live band who’ve been tapped to open for groups like beloved Japanese hardcore punks Otoboke Beaver and were invited by shoegazers Nothing to join the line-up of their inaugural Slide Away Festival, Mo Dotti bring the thrill of their live show to Opaque, which has the aggressive, in-the-room feel of Ride’s first four EPs mixed with the lush yet caustic beauty of My Bloody Valentine in their Isn’t Anything era. Through it all shines the essential quality that has always made Mo Dotti stand out in the oversaturated dream pop field: the songs themselves.

Blue Zero -
The Bay Area has long been a fertile landscape for arty DIY rock innovators to fashion together some of the best music to come out of the US- the local musicians pushing the boundaries of pop and counterculture aesthetics. In the middle of this creative oasis you’ll find multi-instrumentalist songwriter Chris Natividad making iridescent waves with his many projects including Marbled Eye, Public Interest, Aluminum, and now- Blue Zero. What started as a few outlier demos cultivated in Chris’ studio has now fully bloomed into a live band featuring members Lauren Melton of SUCKER and Rick Altieri of Blue Ocean, and a forthcoming LP titled Colder Shade Blue. The songs on the record harmoniously tow the line of warm and meditative artrock and fuzzy, damaged grunge a là Lily’s, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine. While Blue Zero pays homage to their predecessors, the music is wholly unique with its mesmerizing big hooks and blown-out radiating psychedelic atmosphere- a tonal yin yang.

With Blue Zero, Natividad effortlessly escapes the asymmetric and angular guitar stylings of his other projects on Colder Shade Blue. The songs are layered with natural and loose guitar riffs- alternating clean jangle and fried fuzz leads. These guitar parts are intentional and calculated, but never over-played, while the dialed-in and punchy rhythm section paves the way for the memorable vocal melodies and velvety choruses. Songs like “Lemon Year” and “Fortress” are more pop-forward with sugary, head bobbing melodies, while “Scar” and “Gone Again” have a more melancholic, heady quality that pulls you in and under. To say the least, this is an idiosyncratic and diverse rock n roll artifact. The instrumentation was performed solely by Natividad, however the expansive sound of the record was captured by Chris’ longtime friend and collaborator engineer Andrew Oswald resulting in a glowing and powerful wall of sound. Blue Zero’s Colder Shade Blue is an energetic, dynamic and shimmering river of tasteful arrangements and deeply stylized songs that will wash over the listener with continuous, tranquil, and ecstatic reverberation.