By Bryan Doan, April 22, 2025
Shoegaze and noise-rock trio julie delivered a chaotic and high intensity set at The Glass House Pomona April 16, flooding the venue with loud distortion, flickering lights and a packed crowd.
The Los Angeles-based band, julie, stylized in all lowercase letters, performed in Downtown Pomona between their two Coachella weekends, bringing with them a devoted fanbase. Some concertgoers were seen in Coachella merch, a sign that fans weren’t satisfied with just one set.
As someone who’s followed their digital releases, seeing it come to life this loud and physical felt completely different in person.
The band drew a crowd of Generation Z shoegaze enthusiasts who jumped, ran around and tossed tank tops and hats into the air. Others took a more passive stance, nodding along in a trance.
Their set leaned hard into the heavier, noisier side of shoegaze. With a small but growing discography, julie filled the room with tracks from their EP “pushing daisies,” debut album “my anti-aircraft friend” and “flutter,” a standout single from 2020.
For casual listeners, some songs may blend together at first with similar tones and structures. But the band’s use of dynamic drops and distinctive vocal delivery helps each track carve out its own identity.
The band leaned into the repetition and used it to build momentum. When the drops landed or the vocals changed, it felt earned. It made the chaos feel like it had a point, and it worked better live where you could actually feel the noise.
The trio is made up of Alexandria Elizabeth on vocals and bass, Dillon Lee on drums and Keyan Pourzand on vocals and guitar. Elizabeth and Pourzand traded off intense, layered vocals while moving across the stage with a restless energy.
The band’s style was low-key and relaxed, with Pourzand and Lee keeping it casual and not trying to stand out. It was a good contrast to the intensity of the music and helped make Elizabeth’s grungier look pop even more. Together, their looks added to the band’s mysterious but captivating aesthetic.
Each member stood out during the whole set, Pourzand rotated between four different guitars, likely Jazzmasters and Mustangs, to create a textured sound. Lee kept the set tight with his fast-paced drumming, with some notable solos that made the band’s grittiness standout.
Elizabeth’s vocals during “through your window” floated above a bass-heavy build before the full band launched into controlled chaos. On her Tumblr, when an anonymous fan asked, “What inspired your bass tone?” she simply replied with “AGGRESSION.” That response came through clearly on stage with a tone that was hard to ignore.
The band kept the stage design minimal, with just a few large amps and speakers as their backdrop. What stood out more was the lighting, which went along with the music. Each drop hit with dramatic flashes that raised the intensity of each song.
Opening the night was New York-based trio Fcukers, another Coachella act detouring through Pomona. Their set leaned into electronic and indie, starting things off with groovy tracks that got the venue moving early.
By the end of the night, the crowd left euphorically exhausted but still amped. Some stuck around to take photos and linger in the noise that was still ringing in their ears.
Feature images courtesy of Bryan Doan
