Live in Alton: The Conservatory Welcomes Hemlock for Socrates, [melter], Daydreamer, Four Degrees Colder

ALTON - Hemlock for Socrates (Pittsburgh) and [melter] (Chicago) are visiting Alton to play live at The Conservatory on Aug. 9, 2024 as part of their Summer Tour July-August 2024. The bands join St. Louis’s Daydreamer and Four Degrees Colder for the Alton Conservatory show.

A double-billing of dark, dissonant duos, Hemlock for Socrates (Pittsburgh, PA) and [melter] (Chicago, IL) have announced their Summer Tour for July-August 2024, foreshadowed by the release of two brand-new singles and music videos: ‘You’re Not Here’ by Hemlock for Socrates, and ‘blacklist’ by [melter].

The Hemlock for Socrates / [melter] Summer Tour kicks off in Louisville, Kentucky on July 26, before taking in dates mainly across the US Midwest (Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois); wrapping up with two homecoming shows in Chicago and Pittsburgh on Aug. 10 and 11, 2024.

Hemlock for Socrates is the moody, danceable electronic art-rock partnership of Heather Shore and Kegan Heiss. Together they create music that sounds like the molten alloy from a furnace of disparate genres: doom-disco, electro-cabaret, industrial blues, math-wave. At times the sound is experimental and esoteric; at times it's dramatic and deeply personal. Their new single ‘You’re Not Here’ is described by Shore as “dark and angry, lush disco”; while their 2022 album Cavern explores the despair of the powerless individual in a society of billions and the savage desire to experience the pleasures of life and love, no matter how ephemeral they are.

“It’s music for those who find beauty in the clash of contrasts and the harmony of discord… Shore’s powerful voice sends icy chills straight through your central nervous system.” – Post-punk.com

“Their sound is like cool soil running through your fingers. It’s the zap on the tip of your tongue gently touched against a battery. It’s braving the bitter wilderness with a bow in hand, that shoots laser beams.” – First Angel Media

“The music featured on this gothic electropop duo’s latest release could soundtrack an immersive haunted house video game. ‘Hit the Bottom’ alternates dramatically between loud and soft, the dynamic shifts tied together with emotive singing and menacing synth pulses.” – Bored in Pittsburgh

[melter] are Robert Hyman and Jax Allos: a sonic disturbance made of flesh, blood, and machine. The new single ‘blacklist’ is steadily generating buzz from CVLT Nation (US), Side-Line (Belgium), ReGen (US), White Light // White Heat (Italy), Revista the 13th (Argentina), Dark Entries (Belgium) and others worldwide. Alongside the band’s self-titled EP from 2003, ‘blacklist’ showcases [melter]’s trademark blend of Jax’s powerful, soaring vocals and Rob’s propulsive battery of live drums and industrial electronics; fused with heavy distorted bass, dark atmospheric synths, and jarring raw noise elements.

“…it’s raw noise meets darkwave and industrial to make a swirling gothic sound brew that will have you thrashing one second and dancing another.” – CVLT Nation

“An abrasive mix of raw punklike energy, Hyman’s drums and overdriven feedback-drenched tones underscoring Allos’ bristling and impassioned vocals… pounding, distorted beats and groaning bass drones immersing the listener in a bleak atmosphere… vacillating between dreamy melody and slightly unhinged spoken word, accentuating the nightmarish ambience of Hyman’s minimalist sonic deconstructions.” – ReGen Magazine

“It is a sound that prowls, exposes, and works on the raw edges of the senses… pure contagion as post punk and alt noise instincts collude with electronic experimentation… Allos’ vocals are a magnet for attention and imagination, her brooding tones and breath alluring and sinister… wrapped in the warm, slightly understated but firm seduction of keys… A record for appetites for the darkly unique and imaginatively compelling… a striking pleasure… and an introduction to the band that has certainly stirred our addictive natures.” – Ringmaster Review

Full Hemlock for Socrates / [melter] Summer Tour dates and details:

Hemlock for Socrates + [melter] Summer Tour: July-August 2024

• July 26 – Louisville, KY – Art Sanctuary
• Hemlock for Socrates, [melter], DJ Count Grozny, Dead Souls Gothic Lounge DJs
• Event Page
• July 27 – Columbus, OH – The Spacebar
• Kali Dreamer, Hemlock for Socrates, [melter], Hypnagogia
• Event Page
• July 31 – Ypsilanti, MI – Ziggy’s
• Crune, Hemlock for Socrates, [melter]
• Event Page
• August 1 – Madison, WI – Crucible
• SØLVE, [melter], Hemlock for Socrates
• Event Page
• August 2 – Grand Rapids, MI – Mulligan’s
• Strange Skin, [melter], Hemlock for Socrates
• Event Page
• August 3 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Ruin
• Funayurei, Hemlock for Socrates, [melter]
• Event Page
• August 8 – Cincinnati, OH – The Comet
• Eugenius, Hemlock for Socrates, [melter]
• Event Page
• August 9 – Alton, IL – The Conservatory
• Daydreamer, [melter], Hemlock for Socrates, Four Degrees Colder
• Event Page
• August 10 – Chicago, IL – Bourbon on Division
• [melter], Hemlock for Socrates, The Feral Ghosts, DJ Veganinblack
• Event Page
• August 11 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Government Center
• Hemlock for Socrates, [melter], Obsidian, Ghost Painted Sky
• Event Page

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