Charlotte’s indie bands celebrate new albums, help push local indie rock to next level

There was a time when Charlotte – as a music city – existed in the shadow of Chapel Hill’s indie rock scene.

Roughly two decades later, those geographical lines have faded. As with other genres, Charlotte is putting its own quality underground/DIY indie rock on the map.

Two such bands have official release shows this month: Charlotte quartet The Mineral Girls, which celebrates the LP release of its 2015 album “Cozy Body” Saturday at Snug Harbor; and Charlotte quartet Serfs, which is one of the bands opening for the Mineral Girls but also has its own album release to celebrate on Jan. 29 at Petra’s.

Both CDs will be released in conjunction with local label Self Aware Records, which has drawn national press for previous releases by locals Late Bloomer and Junior Astronomers.

Serfs and the Mineral Girls are just two players in Charlotte’s incestuous indie rock scene, where bands are interconnected through band members, labels and friendships. Such interconnectedness has happened before in Charlotte, but today’s scene seems less insular and localized than in the past.

While Charlotte musicians were once quick to dismiss the local scene, the current crop praises the city’s fans, venues and quality of acts (although they also hope for more DIY spaces and house shows).

Phil Pucci, 29, started Serfs after moving back to Charlotte from Portland, Ore., where he was frustrated with the local scene.

“Portland has a reputation as a cultural hub, but getting involved in local music, I couldn’t find a band I liked. It was like the bands were almost good,” he says. He sees Charlotte musicians trying harder to create something with depth.

“I guess playing music is a hobby, but it’s fun to think of your band as an extension of yourself instead of something to do while getting wasted with friends,” Pucci says.

The Mineral Girls’ 23-year-old singer/band leader Brett Green takes his music seriously too.

“It’s my main output in life. It’s not a hobby. It’s more important to me than other things I do. It’s the thing I apply myself to the most,” says Green, 23, who works at Lunchbox Records.

“Cozy Body” is the first release for the Mineral Girls as a full band. It’s quirky, catchy, often upbeat indie pop-rock marked by guitar interplay and Green’s sort of faraway yet personal musings. It’s accessible yet weird.

“It’s grown from an indie-folk band to a full-blown rock band with hooks,” says bassist Dylan Fleming. Drummer Vince Dambrosio adds that producer Bo White described “Cozy Body” as the band moving from the Mineral Girls to the Mineral Women.

Serfs’ “Day Hang” is the other side of the coin – a dark and moody, shoegaze-y effort that thankfully doesn’t cloak the vocals in distortion. It’s anchored in deep bass lines, Pucci’s lyrics, and shades of its punk beginnings.

Given the lyrical heft and balance of hooks and originality, both are worthy of national attention (both bands will tour in March). But neither expects it to turn into a major means of income with international notoriety. That’s not the goal.

The members of Serfs have day jobs, upcoming weddings and school to consider, but Pucci describes playing music as “the most fun thing I do.”

“It’s an outlet for creativity and emotions,” Fleming says, while Dambrosio says he enjoys experiencing other scenes on tour.

Adds the Mineral Girls’ Green: “To me, finding success as a band is finding more than one other person that relates to what I have to say. It’s enough getting to do it.”

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Charlotte’s indie bands celebrate new albums, help push local indie rock to next level."