Article & Photos by: Kyle Ostrander
Brooklyn, NY – This past weekend, metal band Better Lovers delivered a beautifully thrashing performance that pulsated New York City’s iconic venue Warsaw from floor to ceiling. Fresh off the release of their spectacular debut album, Highly Irresponsible, the room was capped with anticipation from fans waiting to catch their favorite songs performed live.
When the stage lights dropped, a medley of songs featuring the word “love” played through the PA system as the band took their spots. “New York City! What’s up you guys? Are you ready for this??” yelled vocalist Greg Puciato as he paraded onto the stage wearing what appeared to be a luchador mask-inspired balaclava. Backed by a wall of amplifiers and strobe lights, the group immediately erupted into “Lie Between the Lines”, the first track off the aforementioned album. As soon as the first note hit, a surge of distortion and energy ripped through the venue. Almost immediately the crowd responded by moshing, crowd surfing, and screaming with the band. Not one to be left out of the action, Puciato soon removed his balaclava, and leapt into the crowd to continue singing while being crowd surfed across the venue. At the same time, the rest of the band was also ferociously stampeding across the stage, flipping their hair, and running right up to the edge of the stage to interact with the crowd.
The 15 song set pulled heavily from Highly Irresponsible, including “Drowning in a Burning World”, “Future Myopia”, and “A White Horse Covered in Blood”. Bringing some tongue-in-cheek fun into the set, a recording of the children’s song “If You’re Happy and You Know it” played before Better Lovers’ final song, their 2023 debut single “30 Under 13”. Accenting the intense dynamics of the group’s music were the strobe lights surrounding the band. Shifting between bright flashes and almost complete darkness, the deeply mesmerizing light show perfectly accented the mood and ferocity of the captivating frenzy unfolding on stage. “New York, you’re always so amazing to us! I can’t wait until we have more albums out. That way we can play for you guys even longer the next time we’re here!” said Puciato. I think it’s safe to say everyone who was there can’t wait for this amazing band to return again.
Better Lovers continue their North American tour through the end of this year, before heading to the UK in January for more dates. You can view all their upcoming shows here.