Live Shows: Glixen, Trauma Ray, Her New Knife, and Knifeplay, The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA 4/22/26
I've been a huge fan of Glixen's ever since I first heard "foreversoon" back in 2024. Seeing them play with Glitterer shortly after solidified my fandom, and I've been trying to see the Arizona heavy shoegaze band every time they make it up here. Wednesday night they headlined The Sinclair with three other diverse shoegaze bands: Trauma Ray, Her New Knife, and Knifeplay.
Philadelphia's Knifeplay opened up the show. I was completely unfamiliar with them until Wednesday night, and they quickly won me over. They played a set of loud/quiet/loud shoegaze that went from gorgeous to punishing. Their music was simply mesmerizing and sucked the crowd in almost instantly. Some songs were almost completely quiet and almost folklike, and others were fully heavy. They played three or four songs in their just under thirty minute set, and set the tone for the evening perfectly.
Her New Knife played next. They're also from Philadelphia, and while considered a shoegaze band, they pushed the limits of what can be considered the genre. While the shoegaze wall of fuzz was almost always present, their sound was more akin to noise punk or post punk. Their songs had an intense, jerky effect that hit my own personal taste perfectly. Plus, the entire band has this amazing stage presence that made it impossible to look away from the stage. They were another great discovery for the night.
Texas' Trauma Ray followed Her New Knife. They brought the heavy to shoegaze with their set. They switched from almost classic to a more alt-rock or even metal sound. They quickly inspired a pit, along with some crowdsurfing and stage diving. Even with all of the heaviness, their music had an intrinsic beauty to it. I was reminded of Gish era Smashing Pumpkins or Hum quite a bit while they played. I was more familiar with Trauma Ray than the previous two bands, but I was still blown away by their set, and they far exceeded expectations.
Closing out the night was Glixen. It was my third time seeing them, and they still blew away my expectations. Kiara Johnson still pounds his drums like he's in a hardcore band, and there is no one out there that combines heavy and beauty like Glixen does. The only difference to the previous two performances of their that I've seen was that Aislinn Ritchie is stepping more into the role of frontwoman. The first time I saw them, her vocals were kept towards the back and were barely audible at times (in that shoegaze way). At The Sinclair, her vocals were more out front. When she set down her guitar after a few songs, she took on an almost popstar quality and owned that stage. Adding a pop element to their beautifully heavy shoegaze sound was unexpected, but a very welcome addition. Seeing their musical growth over the past two years has been a treat.
