It was apparently a night of thirds this August 30th when trios Male Bonding, Love Inks and Girlfriends made their stop at Brighton Music Hall. Although Love Inks front-women warned us to ‘beware of Drownelaware’, this Wednesday would more appropriately hold the moniker, ‘beware of Allston’. The night before the official renters turn-over, an ominous air loomed overhead Allston Rock City, like the eye of a storm before the big migration frenzy. Alas, those that braved ARC were the lucky ones considering these three bands are some of the best that the lo-fi genre wave is turning out.

Finally arriving after a mess of movers traffic, Girlfriends was mid way through their set, pulling off the prime mix. Thick bass and guitar harnessing the edge of reverb right before pushing into overkill territory.  Boston locals awarded “Best Garage/Psych Band” by the Phoenix’s Best Music Poll in 2010, BMH’s space allowed Girlfriends sound to reach us perfectly, proving the validity to that status. Their sound, low and flowing to the audience, resonating, but not lingering too much to drown what came next. A sincere thank you goes out to Girlfriends for putting the breaks on the overindulgence of reverb thats killing any originality or unique distinct sound within the lo-fi genre. The venue, a bit too big for Girlfriends mystique, they could have benefitted from a smaller stage where their tunes could better connect with the audience. Regardless, Girlfriends tracks, melodic enough to sway to but still rough, caught my tender garage rock interest and gained my respect, for whatever that might be worth.

The next three piece made a drum machine their fourth spawning my initial skepticism. Already digging Love Inks thanks to free downloads (Stereogum, Daytrotter), I knew bringing their machine to the live show would be a hurdle I’d face. Maybe I’m close-minded, or like pure human performance, because simulated instruments just turn me off. The drum machine may be good if you somehow can not find a drummer, or maybe its specific sound enhances your tracks in a way a skins might not (this may be the case for Inks), but the lack of this essential driving force leaves slight confusion mixed with a semi-coffeehouse vibe as the machine trickled of at the end of each song. Nonetheless the smooth blending of each member created the gaze-iest of auras. Their minimalist pop, a simplicity not redundant or boring keeps you swaying, trance like to their low rock sound. Although not performing to a roaring crowd, front-women Sherry LeBlanc attracted us all with her sweet coo and southern charm.

Completing the three by three was East London’s Male Bonding. A day post the release of their second Sub Pop album, Endless Now, the band must have been riding a high wave. One would think with noise rock being a favorite to the local Allston scene combined with this highly anticipated band, Brighton Music Hall would be teeming with local garage rockers, alas timing and lack of promotion led to a shortage of presence and didn’t yield a deserved stoked atmosphere. Still, singer/guitarist John Arthur Webb, bassist Kevin Hendrick and drummer Robin Silas Christian instruments produced record quality sound with the added energy thanks to their live presence. With little banter, and continuous sound flowing from their amps, Male Bonding created an intense synergy between members, instruments, and audience. Low mixing on the vocals made their semi-muffled lyrics even more ambiguous, none the less, power tacks, ‘Year’s Not Long’, ‘Weird Feelings’ and ‘Tame The Sun’ got the crowd jiving. If only it hadn’t been the eve of Allston dooms day, the crowd would have been swarmed with proper mosh. Hopefully on their return Boston can show these UK guy how we can really rock.