All photos by James Broscheid
There is a specific kind of hush that falls over a crowd when they know they are witnessing the end of a chapter. Tanukichan, the genre-bending project of Bay Area multi-instrumentalist Hannah van Loon, brought her latest tour to a close at La Rosa in Tucson. Supporting her 2024 EP ‘Circles’, van Loon delivered a set that was equal parts hypnotic shoegaze and gritty, driving rock. From the moment the trio took the stage, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a standard rock show. Van Loon, Joe Lyle (drums/vocals) and Bee Wright (guitar/vocals), didn’t rely on ear-piercing volume to make a point. Instead, they opened with texture.
The bass settled deep into the foundation of La Rosa, a recently converted monastery, physically grounding the room, while guitar lines and vocals intentionally blurred together, submerged within the mix. It was a sonic representation of van Loon’s history as a classically trained violinist turned indie-rocker whose influences range from The Beatles to the high energy of Japanese rock. Tanukichan’s live mix was orchestrated not through a brute force of decibels, but via a deliberate manipulation of sonic texture. Guitar and vocal lines were rendered with an intentional diffusion, their boundaries dissolving into an undifferentiated sonic mass, purposefully submerged within the overall tone. The lighting matched this sonic philosophy: no heavy spotlights, nothing drawing undue attention to the individuals, only enhancing mood. Van Loon doesn’t perform at an audience; she performs around them, creating an environment rather than a spectacle. The Tucson crowd responded with a focused stillness, hanging on every note.
The setlist balanced the old with the new. The band tore through dreamier hits from the ‘Sundays’ (2018) and ‘Gizmo’ (2023) eras (both released on Carpark subsidiary, Company Records). Tracks like “Like The Sun” and “Hunned Bandz” were undeniable crowd-pleasers. However, the energy shifted when they dipped into the ‘Circles’ EP (Carpark Records, 2024). “In A Dream” and “It Gets Easier” brought a heavier, grittier heat to the room, proving that van Loon’s sound is evolving past simple dream pop into something more substantial and jagged. The band’s interpretation of “Thin Air” departing from the studio architecture, embracing improvisational elasticity and raw, immediate energy. The set concluded with the hypnotic title track from Tanukichan’s latest EP. A grittier, heavier rendition than its studio counterpart, it culminated in an extended passage of guitar noise that deliberately pushed the sound to its saturation point, dissolving the song’s structure into a cathartic and glorious wash of distortion. On that note, Tanukichan thoroughly delivered.
Setlist:
Been Here Before
Radiolove
Escape
Like the Sun
The Best
Bitter Medicine
Enough
Natural
Hunned Bandz
This Time
It Get’s Easier
Don’t Give Up
Thin Air
In A Dream
Circles
To have a listen or to purchase, please visit Bandcamp, Carpark Records or Tanukichan’s website.
