REVIEW: Faetooth with Latter and bosses: Live at The Masquerade (Altar) - ATL
- Joe Chiarella
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The trio of performers command the venue's sold-out crowd with heavy hits
At a swelteringly hot Altar, Faetooth, Latter, and bosses demonstrated three distinct ways to command a sold-out room with heavy, loud, crushing music. Faetooth was originally scheduled to play in April but had to postpone due to illness, leaving fans eagerly anticipating this show for months. First up was bosses, forming a four-person wall of guitars and bass across the front of the stage. Led by singer and guitarist Harlee Young, the band relied less on lyrics and more on riffs and repetition, getting into a groove that spanned shoegaze and metal.
Latter followed with a completely different approach, opting for harsh, screamed vocals and noisy, chaotic music. Their setup featured unexpected instruments like a saxophone and an optical theremin, a device that turns light into shrieks and wails when wielded by the band's frontwoman, Meredith Haines. Their music proved hard to classify, like a punk approach to free jazz, with deeply poetic lyrics delivered through an exhausting scream. Haines didn't hold back on stage, knocking over mic stands and confronting the crowd up close. Their set reached a climax when Haines returned to the stage wearing only a hospital gown to perform “My Body Is My Sickness.” Haines then used a saw to shred the gown, creating a vulnerable, emotional finale that left the room speechless. Numerous fans clad in Latter merch had come out just to see them, and after their performance, it was easy to see why. They were absolutely worth the price of admission on their own.
By the time Faetooth was set to come on, the room was packed wall-to-wall and stiflingly hot. The lights dimmed, and the unexpected sound of Vanessa Hudgens' 2008 song “Sneakernight” came over the PA, repeating its catchy hook “Basically, what we're gonna do is dance,” in sharp contrast to what followed. Faetooth opened the set with “White Noise" off their 2025 album Labyrinthine. The song layered bassist Jenna Garcia's abrasive, growling vocals with guitarist Ari May's cleaner voice, keeping the lyrics intelligible while making it feel as if they had opened a portal to hell. Rah Kanan's drumming provided a restrained backdrop during slower moments, erupting into thunderous explosions when the energy shifted. The lighting was appropriately moody and dark, saturated with purples and reds, creating the feeling of being inside a volcano. Garcia and May made use of the whole stage, often converging in front of Kanan's kit face-to-face, fully locked into each other's groove.
Toward the end of the set, the band told the crowd to get "ready to headbang.” As a metal novice, I expected a fast, high-energy song, but what came next was a 10-minute version of “Saturn Devouring His Son,” from their 2022 album Remnants of the Vessel. This was one of the slowest songs of the night, but its command over the audience was unmistakable. One by one, the band's followers fell under the music's trance, swaying and headbanging in unison through the track's heavy and softer passages. I could feel my own heartbeat slowing to match the 60 BPM pulse of the music. Faetooth ended the evening with “Echolalia” before exiting the stage to another unexpected track, Crowded House's “Don't Dream It's Over.” The show was over, and while it wasn't a dream, the heavy haze it left behind certainly felt like one.
Article and photos by Joe Chiarella. Please credit @joe.takes.pictures or @art.seen.atl if reposting on social media.
