Columbia-based indie-rock band Drona will be opening for Slow Joy on Sunday, Feb. 23. The show will start at 7 p.m. This performance is the first of many February concerts, as the group is also a part of the True/False film fest’s music line-up.
Drona will also be performing on Feb. 26 to kick off the film fest, along with Saint Louis-based artist Soumir and BC69 at Eastside Tavern at 7 p.m. Throughout the festival, Drona will also be busking between films and other events.
The three-piece sibling band dropped their first release of the year last month on Jan. 17. Drona released “blisterpack,” a four-track EP that marks a new stage in the natural evolution of the young indie-rock ensemble. The EP release came ahead of Drona’s IndieFest performance at Rose Music Hall on Jan. 18.
It has been just under a year since Drona dropped their last album, “SANGUINE SMILES.” The band also performed multiple times in 2024: their Zipperfest performance in the summer and a show at Fretboard for First Fridays in September among others. “blisterpack” had been teased by the band as a summer EP since their performance at Zipperfest in July. The eldest band member, Arjuna Raghu, mixed and mastered the album in a way the group had not done before, which delayed the release.
The extra time put into mixing and mastering the album all makes sense when listening to the album. When listening closely, guitar picking, vocals, and drum tracks are crisper on this record than any of Drona’s previous releases, most noticeable in the stereo production of the song “guilty pleasure.” The production makes the project feel complete and purposeful, a sign of maturity in a group that is entering their fourth year together.
The balance in songwriting is most striking in this release. Each band member is featured on their own song, an example of the band’s egalitarian approach to making music.
The title track “blisterpack,” features the eldest brother, Arjuna, who cuts into an emotional lyrical groove, supplemented by noisy guitar and tight drumming. After the first two minutes, the song drives into an instrumental solo, where guitar and drums lock in hard on percussive beats. The song also features background vocals from the youngest sister, Pasha.
The next song on the record, “guilty pleasure,” features Surya, the middle child. Surya does not hold back on his vocal performance, showing his ability to shift lanes between quick-fire, catchy lines and longer vocal beats on the chorus. Surya’s background adlibs and the varied percussion give this song a deep pocket. The crisp guitar on this track is also notable.
The third song, “new measures,” features Pasha on a pop-sounding melody with droning background guitar and heavy drums. Pasha’s song-writing on this tune is reflective of Drona’s different sound. Additionally, Pasha’s overlapping vocals near the end of the tune give the song a greater dimension.
The EP closes out with an instrumental song and an electric version of their song “cicada song” from their 2023 album “keen eyes with a grim smile.” Whereas the original cicada song feels like a calm, serene summer day, this electric version, supplemented by drums and bass, feels like the hot wave of cicadas we saw in the Missouri summer of 2024. Hearing the difference between the two versions of the song makes you realize how much this group has evolved sonically over the past two years.
These songs and more of Drona’s unique Columbia sound will be played throughout the next few weeks across town. Resources for those concerts are listed below.
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