The Student Association Programming Board’s Underground Music Committee welcomed the band Hello Mary for a nostalgic and raw performance in the University Union Underground Cafe this past Thursday. Opening the show was student band Mall Goth, whose grunge-inspired sound allowed students to transcend time.

The space was transformed into a small concert-like setting with a dark atmosphere lit up by blue and red lights that shone onto the stage. The doors opened at 8 p.m. and the openers took the stage at 8:30 p.m. Mall Goth consists of five members — Ella Kasper, a senior majoring in psychology, on vocals and bass; Thomas Finney, of Ithaca, on drums; Peter Lukach, of Endicott, on lead guitar; Val Lasster, of New York City, on keys and backing vocals; and Cheston Huczkl, on guitar.

Mall Goth takes inspiration from ‘90s rock, 2020 indie bands and headliners Hello Mary to create a blend of laid-back grunge and indie music that can be classified as slacker rock. Their performance included previously released original songs and a Pixies cover that got the audience grooving and singing along. The band’s sound featured cool dynamics, with intense instrumentals and the lead singer’s soft voice. Lukach wowed the crowd with his lively electric guitar lick. They ended their set with a couple of unreleased originals that are soon to be released on an upcoming EP.

Kasper described how their band came together as students from BU.

“We bonded over our love of the band Plum Tree in the movie ‘Scott Pilgrim’ and sat together in music theory class and decided to start jamming and started playing shows,” Kasper said. “We’ve gone through a few different lineups and members, and this is where we’re at right now.”

Around 9 p.m., Hello Mary took the stage, and students began filling in the crowd after the opening set. Hello Mary is a Brooklyn-based band made up of three members — Stella Wave, 24, on drums and vocals, Helena Straight, 20, on guitar and vocals and Mikaela Oppenheimer, 20, on bass.

Straight and Oppenheimer became friends in middle school and began jamming together. Wave was later introduced to their band through the organizer of their first show, as they were lacking a drummer. They have played together for six years.

Wave carried a lot of weight with her punchy drumming and jarring vocals, creating an edgy and true heavy metal sound. Straight’s delicate voice was a pleasant contrast to their alternative rock instrumentals. Their setlist consisted of original songs from previously released albums, including their hit “Ginger,” which has over 1.4 million streams on Spotify. Their sound was playful, with Oppenheimer simultaneously playing ominous backing tracks of muffled voices that blended with their songs.

As their set continued, Wave unexpectedly engaged the audience, running off stage and started screaming “I don’t know” and “fuck you” multiple times while also using her microphone to hit the drums.

Wave’s improvisational act amped up the crowd and brought the energy that the audience had been anticipating. In true metalcore fashion, the band’s hard vocals and laid-back attitude reflected the common culture of rejecting musical and societal norms.

Michael LoBiondo, BUMP’s vice chair and a junior double-majoring in philosophy, politics and law and Spanish, highlighted the uniqueness of the authenticity of both acts.

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what authenticity means, but I think ultimately it comes down to how well the music and performances resonate with an audience,” LoBiondo wrote in an email. “And there’s a reason we see such turnout for these acts, and I think it stems from their ability to reach people at an internal level. Both Mall Goth and Hello Mary are really special acts and have such a magical quality to their music and performances, and whatever that magic is, it speaks to a lot of Binghamton students.”