Barboza Continues New Sound Spotlighting with waltzerr

Barboza in Capitol Hill is a long, rectangular underground bar. Seventies ballads are playing while pink and blue lines of light beam down from industrial rafters to the dance floor below. People sit tucked away at cozy circular booths lit by flickering red candles while others gather near the stage. In the crowd, I see the opening band milling about and chatting with audience members. This is the band waltzerr, and they are about to perform their opening set before a performance from Kellan, followed by the night’s headliner, Ayo Dot & the Uppercuts. 

waltzerr performance at Barboza

The Evergreen Echo

Waltzerr (stylized waltzerr) is a five-person band based in Seattle and consisting of Emily Waltzer, Kevin Lee, Anthony Coraggio, Derek Hall and Schuyler Jensen. Three of the band members—Waltzer, Lee, and Jenson—play guitar, and immediately, when the band launches into their first song, I can tell that each guitar is offering a different layer to their sound. 

This is a band that cares about atmosphere and texture. While one guitar is distorted, heavy and dreamlike, another lilts through melodic solos. This duality feels reminiscent of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s heyday of shoegaze. But there is also something very punk in these songs, particularly in the fierce and piercing clarity of the Waltzer’s vocals.

In several moments over the course of the set, the guitarists build up the intensity during a solo. In these moments, Waltzer turns to the bass player, Coraggio, and the two proceed to jam together, smiling with their heads bobbing up and down in sync. The band’s camaraderie and heart is clear, and so is their knack for writing ethereal and very catchy hooks. 

In an interview on The Emerald Gem podcast, Waltzer and Lee spoke about their songwriting process. “I’m the words, he’s the sound,” Waltzer said. She added later on that “the voice memos I send him sound nothing like the final recordings,” explaining that there is a lot of work done between putting initial chords to lyrics and then crafting the song’s final tone, speed and key. 

Waltzerr released their first EP, Small Talk, on streaming platforms in August 2024. This EP is a no-skips, melancholy (in the best way) project that deserves a thorough listen. It kicks off with “Highway Star,” a longing plea for taking a drive with someone that won’t end, and where the destination doesn’t matter. Later on in the tracklist, “You Got Me Thinking” begins with a muffled, far-away guitar riff that then launches into a charged anthem of frustration. The album closes out with the acoustic “Sixteen,” where the narrator gains clarity on the dynamics of a toxic teenage relationship over a bed of cinematic strings.  

In a mere 30 minute set, waltzerr packed a real genre-bending, melodically gorgeous punch. And lucky for you, the band is on tour. After a Jan. 31 show at Vancouver’s Take Your Time, waltzerr will perform at Blue Room in Bellingham on Feb. 1, and at Tacoma’s Spanish Ballroom the following night. 

“Barboza” in neon yellow

The Evergreen Echo

Before Barboza was a music venue, it was a mechanic shop for a car dealership. Cars would be lowered underground to the Barboza level by an elevator. Through the years, the Barboza/Neumos complex has hosted artists such as The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Fleet Foxes, and M83, showing a tendency to highlight experimental sound and songwriting. The venues also participate in the Capitol Hill Block Party each summer, and are part of Capitol Hill’s vibrant queer nightlife scene.