Lifeguard

Sending out shards of inspired guitar noise over the crash and bash of a hot-wired rhythm section, Lifeguard are an indie rock trio from Chicago who embrace the classic texts of noise rock and add distinctive flavors of their own. The influences of punk, no wave, noise rock, post-rock, and math rock are all audible in their formula, though the strength and precision of their attack, the energy of their performances, and the jagged tunefulness of their songs show they’re building a unique stylistic framework of their own. After releasing a handful of singles and EPs, Lifeguard burst into wider recognition with Matador’s release of the EPs Crowd Can Talk and Dressed in Trenches on one CD.
Lifeguard were formed in Chicago in 2019 by bassist and vocalist Asher Case and drummer Isaac Lowenstein. The two had been rehearsing together for a few months when they were asked to serve as the rhythm section for another Chicago-based indie band, Horsegirl, for an appearance at a local festival. Another area group, Dwaal Troupe, was also on the bill, and their singer and guitarist Kai Slater struck up a conversation with Case and Lowenstein, who asked Slater to collaborate with them. They began writing songs together, adopting the group name Lifeguard, and in February 2020 they released their debut recording, a four-song EP titled In Silence. One month later, they issued the single “Tin Man” (recorded in their basement and released digitally), and in October, the nine-song LP Drive appeared; it had been recorded at Chicago’s Electrical Audio studio and initially released on cassette. In August 2022, Lifeguard partnered with the independent Born Yesterday label to release another cassette, the four-song EP Crowd Can Talk, recorded with engineer Mike Lust at Electrical Audio. The EP was well-received, and the trio’s dynamic and energetic performances created a buzz around the group. In 2023, the established indie label Matador Records signed Lifeguard, and in July of that year, they delivered Crowd Can Talk/Dressed in Trenches, a nine-song collection that reissued the Crowd Can Talk EP in tandem with a subsequent, previously unreleased EP, also recorded by Lust at Electrical Audio, featuring five additional unreleased songs. The band hit the road in support, playing a number of shows with their friends in Horsegirl. ~ Mark Deming