Mid City Ballroom was buzzing with energy and excitement over long-time veteran of the local music scene, Shipwrecked, for its album release party on Jan. 14.

The band was supported by the opening act, Cashier, and long-time friends, Wonderkid.

”On My Own”, the band’s second album release, has been highly anticipated since the band started recording in 2020, two years after its first album released in 2018 “No Problem.” 

The concert opened with the Lafayette-based group, Cashier. Angelic vocals matched with a shoegaze inspired backing proved to be a perfect opening for the release party.

Shipwrecked lead singer and guitarist, David Bankston, said, “When I first saw Cashier play at Tin Roof, I just thought they sounded so good. I knew they would fit perfectly on the bill.”

The audience was definitely impressed by the new band in the scene. Cashier quickly made a post on its Instagram after the concert clarifying that the band does not currently have songs on Spotify, but it is in the process of recording. 

Wonderkid started next and combined raw, emotional lyrics and vocals with a dreamy sound that caused the entire audience to be drawn into its aura. The band describe themselves as “Mopevvave” (mope-wave) which is a combination of shoegaze, indie, and rock.

Wonderkid is another band that is popular in the local scene, basically creating the genre of “Mopevvave” and popularizing it in local music.

“Wonderkid are longtime friends of ours and we felt like it was essential to have them on this show considering Max (Wonderkid’s drummer) recorded all of these songs,” Bankston said.

At the end, Shipwrecked took the stage to loud applause from the hyped-up audience. Shipwrecked bass guitarist Jacey Marais said the band’s music can be described as “guitar heavy ‘slacker emo” which definitely seems accurate after listening to the overdriven guitars and Bankston’s emo, whiny vocals. This is quintessential indie emo music.

However, it would be a mistake to write Shipwrecked off as something so simple and basic. The energy of its live shows, the freshness of its music in the local scene and its ability to excite its audience all show why the band is so popular in the local scene after so many years. 

As multiple people jumped off the stage to crowd surf while others bounced around together dancing and singing along to every word, one thing was clear: Shipwrecked’s music is fun and helps draw together the local community into a close knit, exciting and supportive space.