Keep Your Distance @ The Venue Distance

When the name of your band comes off like a warning, you can be sure no one is going to mistake you for a straightforward pop band. Sure enough, Chandler hardcore band Keep Your Distance makes aggressive music, but songs like “For I Am the Sky” may surprise listeners expecting standard metalcore. Genre touchstones like palm-muted riffs and sore-throaty screams are front and center, but stranger elements, like that electro intro and curiously symphonic breakdown, illustrate the band’s willingness to shake things up. The band looks like you may expect, with tight jeans and swoopy haircuts, but while Keep Your Distance doesn’t set itself apart from the pack in terms of fashion, the band interjects enough originality into its jams to keep things fresh and retain the respect of the hardcore faithful.