The Criticals’ ‘Deadly Style’ Rocks Out Subterranean

“If it sounds good, just fucking do it,” Parker Forbes, founding member of The Criticals said at Swig Bar in Wicker Park. 

That’s the attitude the Nashville-based rock band embraced Oct. 29 at Subterranean for their final headlining show of the year.

Formed by Forbes and Cole Shugart in 2019, the band has carved out a magnetic presence in the rock scene, bringing their dynamically gritty sound to venues across the country.

Appearing on stage in blonde wigs and variations of 70s-esque garb – in theme for a “Halloween at Rod Stewart’s House” party, the band set the venue ablaze with fan-favorite “Good Lookin” off their 2019 EP Mimosa Hygiene.

The set list included unreleased tracks from the band’s unnamed upcoming record, set for release next year. Forbes and Shugart told The Phoenix their immersive, two-month experience living in England fostered an opportunity for creativity they’d previously never had when producing the album.

“We had never really had a lot of time to record music ‘cause we were funding everything on our own,” Shugart said. “We’ve never really had, like, ‘Here’s two weeks to make a project’ — which I think changes and shapes the way you can think about a project as a whole ‘cause you can live in it.”

Working alongside producer Jonathan Gilmore — frequent collaborator of The 1975, Beabadoobee and Nothing But Thieves — and engineers James Grant and Fred Williams, Forbes and Shugart recorded 14 new tracks for the album. 

The studio in Eastbourne, England, a coastal town about an hour south of London, was a stark contrast from their prior experiences recording in a Tennessee shed, Shugart said.

“There was a loft above the studio,” Forbes said. “We lived there the whole time we were there, so we were as legitimately as ‘living in the studio’ as we possibly could. It was, like, 50 feet away.” 

Shugart said he tested every guitar in the studio to explore their new environment as thoroughly as possible.

“We know there’s not a song, not a single part that could be any better than what we did,” Shugart said.

Forbes’ vocals ignited the already buzzing adrenaline of the crowd during “Adoringly Drunk,” the band’s latest release.

“Holy goddamn, we’re adoringly drunk together / I don’t understand why you’re keeping me on your tether,” Forbes sang.

Dedicated fans of The Criticals have created various fan accounts, with content so specific Forbes said he questions where they get their information.

“The meme account that’s running right now is pretty wild,” Shugart said. “They know some weird shit, where I’m like, ‘Where the fuck did you get that?’”

Shugart referenced one account in particular that has interesting insight into his love of a Southern holiday staple.

“I love deviled eggs,” Shugart said. “I eat deviled eggs every fucking Christmas — I’ll eat like 50 of them, that’s my favorite thing in the world — but how the fuck would they know that?” 

The account, @thecriticalsmemes on Instagram, told The Phoenix the discovery wasn’t all that calculated.

“When I first made the account I went through Cole’s page and saw a post he had made with deviled eggs,” the administrator of @thecriticalsmemes wrote in an Instagram DM to The Phoenix. “Just figured he must really like deviled eggs.”

Subterranean attendees continued to receive a taste of new music as the band performed unreleased songs and familiar tunes from their catalog, including “Absinthe” and “Treat Ya Better.”

With a standing room capacity of 100 people, the intimate setting within the Wicker Park bar lent an immersive perspective of the band’s stellar performance.

“Something about the smaller rooms, the smaller crowds — those always make me more nervous,” Forbes said.

Having opened for groups such as Nickelback, Forbes and Shugart said playing over 30 shows this year has strengthened their faith and confidence in themselves — no matter the venue.

“You’re one bolt in this machine that’s coming out on stage,” Forbes said. “It takes everybody to make that fucking thing run.” 

The band’s synergy transcended genre during their cover of Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” before moving through the set to “Belmont,” a song whose soaring guitar melody and compelling lyrics made it a stand-out piece.

As their set came to its close, fans summoned the band back down the spiral staircase for an encore — which the group heeded, playing the Fray’s Over My Head, followed by another fan favorite of theirs,”Kate Moss.”

Forbes and Shugart said their next single is scheduled to drop Nov. 22 ahead of their long-awaited debut album next year.