Trash Panda is a rock band with a driving sound that falls into the heavier classifications of the alternative genre. They’re a four piece band consisting of Patrick Taylor (Lead Guitar/Vocals), Steven Rose (Bass Guitar), Christian Pittman (Drums/Vocals) and Max Zargon (Keyboard). The group’s first full release was way back in 2015, and they have been touring ever since. Their newer releases include albums with a light and happy feel, while their older albums consist of heavy riffs, harmonic minor scale based melodies and even some lower tuned breakdowns.
The four piece powerhouse’s newer studio work is reminiscent of bands like Tame Impala, MGMT, Crumb and even Animal Collective, while their older albums seem to derive influence from heavier sounding groups, such as Royal Blood, Cleopatrick and Highly Suspect. Their show with Hotel Fiction at The Grey Eagle on Aug. 18 and incorporated a well balanced mix of the two sounds that the group are known to bring to the table and all attendees left the venue satisfied with the band’s performance.
In recent years, Trash Panda has veered away from the heavy sounding riffs that used to guide their songs into the ears of fans, but on this tour, they played quite a few older songs of theirs that newer fans may not have been familiar with. Long time fans and newer listeners alike were all content with the group’s older sound, although it may not have been what everyone was expecting.
Trash Panda and Hotel Fiction are similar sounding groups, but Hotel Fiction takes a lighter approach to communicating musically with the audience, while Trash Panda has a much more aggressive stage presence and punchy guitar tones. This contrast gave the concert a unique feel, as these two bands are both incredibly upbeat in dramatically different ways.