A LONG TIME AGO (2009) in a galaxy far, far away (Nashville), a star was born. But this was no ordinary star—it was Diarrhea Planet.
This faint blip in space steadily grew brighter as time progressed. After releasing an unremarkable debut, 2011’s Loose Jewels, Diarrhea Planet began its triumphant orbit around the rock ‘n’ roll solar system with the release of 2013’s I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams and 2014’s Aliens in the Outfield EP.
The band’s energized concerts are notoriously rowdy. Despite reports of a few crazy-sounding SXSW shows in Austin earlier this month—where they played upside-down from a venue’s rafters and even engaged in an airborne guitar solo battle from the tops of 30-foot-high staging columns—guitarist Evan Bird describes the festival as tamer than previous years. “We had a relatively low-key year, as far as shows that we played,” he says. “Everybody stayed relatively sober this year, which was pretty weird.” The band’s onstage antics, paired with tracks names like “Ghost with a Boner,” convey a “party time, excellent” laissez-faire approach to songwriting.
But Diarrhea Planet has steadily grown into itself, emerging as one of modern rock’s most inimitable titans. For good reason, too—the band’s four guitarists play power riffs that twinkle like rays of sunshine before exploding into blistering, sonic fireballs. Set this molten soundscape to chugging drums and fat, slithering, python-like bass lines, and for a few minutes Diarrhea Planet becomes the center of the universe.