Superfan presents ‘My Piledriver Heart’ ⟡ Feu St-Antoine
Superfan apresenta ‘My Piledriver Heart’ ⟡ Feu St-Antoine
Live music 13€
Thursday 12 November · 21:00
Superfan, Kali Flanagan's new name, performs 'My Piledriver Heart' live — the second chapter of his new identity, marked by a voice in transformation and a darker shade of indie-rock.
Prodigy? Kali Flanagan started making music at 11. At 15 he signed a record deal. For years he performed simply as Kali and was a favourite among a teenage audience, making songs that resonated — and still resonate, of course — with his age and that were also a gateway into a semi-mature indie-rock we all look for at a certain age. In 2024, despite opening for The Strokes and Weyes Blood, he still kept a job at a record store in Los Angeles. Almost a cliché of other times, but one that not only suits him but is completely justified. Kali Flanagan is still very young. It was also in 2024 that he decided to change his name, embracing Superfan, a change that accompanied Tow Truck Jesus, which gave him another dimension. My Piledriver Heart will be the second chapter of that mission. What has changed? For now, the voice. It may seem odd to go down that path, but over these years one thing that has changed in Kali is his voice — the pains of starting so young, but also of discovering it, of how it fits into his music and of how it can evolve with it, in this process. It is, contrary to what it may seem, an advantage: a musician growing with his songs, and us, on this side, growing with him and with them, the songs. Even if we have already grown too much, one can never grow too much, especially with melodies and words that seem to be discovering a way of existing in the current indie-rock scene. Some of them were already known from My Piledriver Heart, like the gorgeous “Aperion (Fantasy Football)”, released about a year ago, which was already a big indicator of the change that was coming: compositions clad in arrangements, with a greater shadow — not necessarily black, but somewhat heavier — as if partly veiling the voice were a desire, in a gesture between shyness and stylistic choice. Kali murmurs a lot, which is not new, but his voice on My Piledriver Heart sounds like a continuous lament, one that does not get stuck in dead ends and moves on, in carousel mode, searching for a mirage of happiness. “Joy” closes the album, and it is no accident. It is another step in this maturing process. Kali Flanagan as Superfan is not yet a mature musician, but he is a formed one. The search for his voice is, today, a process, a luxury he can afford because he sees himself as being ahead of the others. Not out of arrogance, but out of advantage. Take advantage of being able to see him live in 2026. AS.