When you’re pretty much completely unfamiliar with a band and you choose a live setting to be your first exposure, a lot of different things can occur. I had committed to a ticket for the Wild Beasts’s show before even knowing who was on the bill, because…well, I’ve been starved for live music lately. When I headed out to The Music Hall of Williamsburg last weekend to catch Wild Beasts, I’d given their recent release Two Dancers barely a cursory listen and was pretty confused by what I heard. The vocals jumped out at me first; they felt somewhat strained and bordered on out of place in the lush guitar tones. Given where I’m at right now, I have take whatever opportunity to go see a show that presents itself, so I did my best to enter the venue with an open mind.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a show in New York City, long enough ago that The Music Hall of Wililamsburg didn’t exist the last time I was around as a concertgoer. It’s a pretty satisfying space; ample room in front of the stage and a nice raised section to either side made getting a clear view of the show easy. Even though my broke ass didn’t take advantage of it, the happy hour that occurred before and after the show sounded lovely.

After about a half hour on the sidewalk hawking the extra ticket we had after the 4th in our group bailed, I walked in on what I thought was Violens opening set. The show listed them and Canada’s Still Life Still as the openers in that order and again they were both bands I was completely unfamiliar with. Before the show, I took passes at each of their myspace pages, getting a feel for what to expect. I took a liking to Still Life Still’s rough indie rock sound, but found Violens kinda bland. All the websites I saw listed the openers in a different order than expected, so for most of Still Life Still’s set I was misguidedly under the assumption that I was watching Violens. The ‘meh’ I had projected onto their recordings bled over onto Still Life Still’s set. I wasn’t as happy with the Ben Gibbard-ish vocals that got particularly aggravation when they dipped into a bit of Bright Eyes at the overly earnest moments. The band’s two singers together yielded unpredictable results, harmonies not totally nailed and I found myself pulled out of the songs as a result. Musically, they utilized a lot of driving percussion winding amidst the showegazey builds, which when the vocals weren’t a problem, I found it fairly innocuous. Midway through their set, someone in the crowd yelled out, “Canada!” and I suddenly realized I wasn’t watching Violens. I drew the connection then and realized at their best, Still Life Still channel fellow Canadians The Stills, pouring out a good dose of reverbed melodrama. As always with that kind of songwriting, you walk a thin line between charming and childish penning such overbearing songs about girls you may or may not have kissed. They seemed to continually misstep, sticking out of place tone shifts into songs that I would have otherwise enjoyed. During the song “Pastel,” off last year’s awkwardly titled Girls Come Too, featured the repeated shrill yelling of the phrase “We really need to be friends” just came across as equally stumbly as the album’s title. From my first glance at their music, that song leaped out to me as a quality track, though it just didn’t seem to carry over live. Some of the builds in their songs did work well, blossoming into glimmering, wordless explosions. Less hindered by the awkwardness of the vocalists, they used their riffs to push the emotion. The tail ends of their songs were often heavier and that works best for the band, as proven by their raucous set closer.

The actual Violens came out next and their sound rested in a weird niche in somewhere between late 80’s modern rock and the current folk indebted, post-Grizzly Bear world we currently inhabit. Their set was comprised primarily of slow numbers, wrapped in 3 part harmonies and brushed drums The singer’s voice alone worked fine, though it was far better when accentuated by his bandmates at the lush choruses. He hit an odd register often sounding like 8 different singers in any given song: at times akin to what it’d sound like if Dirty Projectors’s Dave Longstreth actually took the medication I’m fairly certain he is prescribed and neglecting. Other moments he reminded me of Glenn Tillbrook of Squeeze, with the numbers accompanying that leaning more towards the appropriate modern rock sound. It was a more restrained and mature sound, especially following the earlier band’s chaotic set, drenched so heavily in an earnestly that, due to the instrumentation occasionally hit regrettable near Coldplay levels of drama. Some of the keyboard sounds chosen were unfortunately cheesy pads, campy pan flutes that were probably cringed at in the early 80’s. Their slowest songs, which every band is entitled to, are not their strong suit, lacking the pulse of the more likable, forward moving numbers. Without tempo, they sank deep into the glacial and became forgettable, those moments I found myself drifting off to study the crowd in order to pass the time.

But I forgive them, because their set was hefty on atmosphere and that doesn’t always lead to compelling listening. Some of what they composed was certainly strong and I feel like given more time, they’ll produce something that’ll garner attention. Being completely unschooled in either of the opening band’s catalogs left me with far different results in what I felt about each band.

Next, Wild Beasts prepped the crowd with a weird track of guitar tones and spoken word, which kinda made my hair stand on end and feel like I was in for a long headlining set of music that was going to bug the fuck out of me. Once they finally emerged on stage and took up their instruments, the first song burst into life with a lovely wall of backwards guitar, spacey polyrythyms, and high bass tones. Immediately you could feel that the band was confident and practiced…the contrast made sharper by the uneven openers. Their sound is wonderfully complex; fitting a jigsaw of oddly shaped guitar parts, keyboard atmospherics in with the two singer’s unique ranges into something quite compelling. The end result of much of their music becomes something confusingly dreamy and aggressive at the same time, but with time it grows on you. What I didn’t love about Hayden Thorpe’s voice on record works almost magically live. His range is warmer, less grating on the ear when fitted with the great mix at the Music Hall venue. Another key asset to the band is the drummer, Chris Talbot who also found some added dynamism in the live mix vs. on record. His unexpectedly funky polyrythmic fills push the music forward and ties it together tightly with some stalwart pop lockstep for the less indie dance numbers.

All their songs are moody and evocative, which is inescapable with their shimmery guitar tone & near operatic singing. I have a note that I scrawled during the show that just says “ mario cloud level.” I’m not sure if there’s any way to properly translate that, but I found a connection during Wild Beasts’s slower, keyboard driven moments. Much of their music is a warmly enveloping surge bolstered by the tight bassist and drummer. I feel like I could draw some line to a less aggressive Muse, but I’ve honestly never directly listened to them. I make that comparison just by the first 30 seconds of youtube clips and what I’ve read about them…and that’s not properly journalistic. There’s some similarity in the complexity of Wild Beast’s music, but that’s about it I think…I don’t really like Muse anyway.

Late in the set they launched into “Brave Bulging”, off 2008’s Limbo, Panto. The uptempo song broke the spell brought on by a handful of slow, charmingly melodramatic numbers in succession. The crowd jumped back into attention dancing along with the toned heaps that the track is woven from. The final end of the song exploded into a lofty and satisfying release of notes and high falsetto. There’s definitely something Eno-y about the whole affair from the weird masses of guitar tones that call up memories of Music for Airports to their oddball pop collisions recall the album this site is named after.

After a lengthy set, they returned for a three song encore, leaving with almost an hour and a half on stage. From front to back, Wild Beasts were a satisfying surprise. While not every element of their music fits together perfectly, as the songs are sometimes crafted from layer after layer of conflicting tones what they play is rewarding if you persist. By the end all the confusion I had about the band had melted away. Given some time to adjust, you’ll find a fantastic live show well worth catching.

Because I plucked a song at random when I posted about them last time, here’s my favorite off Two Dancers, “All The King’s Men” which is both a fantastic summation of their sound and a brilliant song:

WILD BEASTS – ALL THE KING’S MEN

Two Dancers is out now on Domino Records. Buy it at insound.com.

The wonderful photos for this post were graciously provided by Taylor Long. Take a look at her full set from the show here. You can see more live concert photography on her flickr stream.

The northeast thaw has barely begun and I’m 99% certain I’ve already found what will be my jam of the summer. Vibrationz is the perfect blend of headnodding goodness; it’s a more aggressive take on the Chromatics style spun in with the ghost of The Tom Tom Club. I’ve already put it on repeat enough that I’ll burnt out on it before it’s swimming weather, but I’ll love every minute till then.

JAVELIN – VIBRATIONZ

No Mas will be out on April 26th 2010 via Luka Bop. Preorder it at insound.com.

Yeah, I know…it’s March. Presidents Day has passed and McDonalds is already selling Shamrock Shakes…a little late for the Best of 2009, but here we are. I never claimed to be one for timeliness, especially of late. For simplicity sake, the numbers associated with this list are just arbitrary…it’s pretty hard to rank things objectively, but the following is what I liked best about the shitty year that was 2009:

1. Dananananakroyd – Hey Everyone!

Cheeky band name aside, Hey Everyone! is an incredibly solid debut. The album is a fantastic shot of energy, bundling riffs that Le Savvy Fav wish they’d written with some of the weirdo sheen I loved so much about the sadly defunct Blood Brothers. One thing that kills me about the best songs on the album is that Dananananakroyd is one of the few bands kicking around that has the concept of a solid build and breakdown. “Black Wax”, the song I turned to most often when I needed to clear the bullshit from my brain, culminates in a fantastic riff & drum fill combination that would make anyone in the 80’s take pause during a line of coke.

Lyrically, you’ve got a weird split…there’s a song called “Totally Bone” which seems to be about emasculation and fucking, while the track “Hey James” has a lyrical riff on the Jungian concept of ego in the opening verse. This past year I came to the realization that sad bastard music does indeed contribute to your state as a sad bastard, so an album full of high tempos, tasteful screaming and good Glaswegan proto-punk riffs is ok by me.

And, considering I just rewatched Ghostbusters and it’s still a classic…I’m good with a Dan Aykroyd inspired band name.

DANANANANAYKROYD – BLACK WAX

2. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

I think there’s been more than enough chatter over the last year about Dirty Projector’s most recent release, so I won’t linger here too long. If Beyonce’s little sister is covering your songs, you’ve hit a certain plateau and there’s not much more to say about what they’re producing.

That said, it’s hitting wide for a reason. The electronics of the previous albums has been replaced with a live band that can reproduce the weirdness in Dave Longstreth’s brain. It’s odd how simply putting their electro classical eccentricities in a band context made the whole affair more palatable. To pinch a reaction my dad had after checking the album out, “Bitte Orca is like listening to dyslexia” and that’s a mighty benefit in my mind. A perfect album to sing along to when nobody is around.

3. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Again, another album that’s had enough press and sales to merit knocking it from the list, but it’s hard to deny that Veckatimest is an incredibly sold release that will have many imitators. “Two Weeks” is a brilliant piece of work and was my unofficial jam of last summer.

The freaky video helped too.

4. Dan Deacon – Bromst

Another album, like Bitte Orca that successfully takes a usually electronic core and does its best to transcribe it into the organic. I was already a fan of Dan Deacon and his green skull fueled live show, but with Bromst, I found myself appreciating the complexity more. Pitchfork had a fantastic, but but now pulled documentary on the making of Bromst that gave some wonderful insight into the production process that went into the album. No great album should need an accompanying text explaining it to add to the enjoyment, but it was definitely a great thrill to watch them tinker with a midi player piano for the parts too fast for human hands. Equally impressive was the accompanying tour which forced him away from his usual performance spot in the center of the crowd and onstage to accommodate the 14 piece ensemble needed to perform the new songs. It seemed like a very frustrating venture for Deacon who normal thrives being at the center of the hurricane that is his live show, but I think be it a personal success or failure for him, it was amazing to see him pushing his own boundaries. The show I caught at The Wonder Ballroom in Portland was probably the best show I saw all year.

5. Why? – Eskimo Snow

I’ve written about this band probably more than any other band in TTM’s spotty and short life. I did a focus on the album a few months ago, which you can read here. It’s a quality album from a growing artist…I’m not sure if it’s his strongest overall, but it definitely stands as one of the best of the year.

6. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast

A comedown of an album, especially in the context of 2007’s doomy & layered Armchair Aprocrapha, the calming overall flow of Noble Beast is still a choice record overall. Like with Why?, I find it tough to pick an album I like best because the peaks and valleys of each of their discographies are something that never lines up with a complete album. Andrew Bird is another must see live…I caught him for the 9th time this past year and the evolution of his live show is an awesome counterpart to the music he makes. Finally backed by a full band, the work you get on the album comes closer than ever to what he’s performing live. Check out my writeup from back in February and give a listen to the most interestingly twisty song on the album Anonanimal:

ANDREW BIRD – ANONANIMAL

7. Miike Snow – Miike Snow

I think on first glance, I had to give this album a few chances before I accepted it in. Given a few tries, you’ll find there’s a lot of polished hooks and lovely electronics layered into every song. In my continuing effort to listen to more upbeat music, this did a solid job of fitting the bill. Even the slower numbers, especially the broody Silvia, keep a great underlying beat and the accompanying video could be a electro outtake from the recent film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.

This clip of them performing the song live on KCRW is worth a look too, gives me some hope that they have a solid live show to back up a studio heavy album.

8. The XX – The XX

I know the pendulum has swung back and the time is now to shit on this once buzz-enswarmed band. This will often happen when your wikipedia page includes the following paragraph:

“Their song “Intro” is also being used in a promotional commercial for the 2010 Winter Olympics, the series Cold Case and Law & Order on the Dutch television network Net 5, and “VCR” was featured in a Lie to Me episode. In episode 7 of the online BBC EastEnders spin-off E20 their cover of “Teardrops” was used. Their song “Heart Skipped a beat” was featured in a 2009 episode of 90210 (TV series). The song “Islands” was used in an episode of the Golden Globe-winning medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.

Success is a bitch, and the blog hive mind really only loves you when your sales demographic isn’t the same as Grey’s Anatomy. That said, I still want to give this album credit where credit is due; minimalism is tough to do right and The XX have a pretty exceptional grasp on the simple, steely mood they do so well.

LA’s Nosaj Thing did a pretty fantastic remix of the album standout “Islands” that turns the mood murky with a lovely layer of analog wash.

THE XX – ISLANDS (NOSAJ THING REMIX)

9. Talkdemonic – Eyes At Half Mast

While I’m one to hold a candle for the quintessentially dead genre that is post rock, there’s still a handful of bands out there mucking about with the formula and creating something worth listening to. As a duo, Talkdemonic takes a slimmer approach than the usual GSYBE sized mob, giving you just a drummer and violinist. Their music is a swirling mass, Lisa Molinaro’s somber violin creeping around Kevin O’Connor’s clamorous drumming. With Eyes At Half Mast, the band mixes the tempo up combining slinky, atmospheric songs with driving, percussion fueled numbers that match the fire of their live show. Although the album was released in late 2008, I want to give some praise to the Portland duo’s fine release.

TALKDEMONIC – MARCH MOVEMENT

10. The Dodos – Time To Die

The simplicity of their music is a strength, relying on the warm vocal melodies of Meric Long to serve as the subdued hook. Drummer Logan Kroeber’s accompanying polyrythms keep their music at a more complex and interesting pace than most comparable indie folk, which often lulls me into a bored slumber. I could probably find some fault in the simplicity of Long’s lyrics, but most every other element on Time To Die does such a fantastic job at being memorable that the album earned a spot on the list.

Album closer “Time To Die” is a great summation of the overall tone of the album, beginning with soft vibes and acoustic guitar that jumps in with a drum propelled tone shift midway through.

THE DODOS – TIME TO DIE

Given my current pace, keep a lookout for my wrap up of 2010 sometime after the next presidential election.

Tonight UK’s Wild Beast will be playing a show at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. I was already going to be in the neighborhood and since it’s been ages since I’ve seen a show, I had a friend pick me up tickets before I was aware who was playing. Seems I accidentally invited myself to a decent show. Opening acts tonight are the reverb soaked Violens & Canada’s raw indie rockers Still Life Still. The latter I’m pretty curious to check out live.

Here’s a track off Wild Beast’s 2009 release Two Dancers:

WILD BEASTS – THIS IS OUR LOT

Two Dancers is out now on Domino Records. Buy it at insound.com.

Los Angeles’s Red Sparowes are slated to release their next album The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer on April 6th of this year, which happens to be my birthday. Yay! The band has added a new member since their last release and is carrying the torch proudly for really bombastic post rock song titles and equally expressive songs. Take a listen to the 4th track on the forthcoming album, which hits a fantastic peak that well merits use of the descriptor ‘epic’. ‘Crescendo’ is also applicable , but it’s not as flashy.

RED SPAROWES – GIVING BIRTH TO IMAGINED SAVIORS

The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer will be released on April 6th, 2010 via Sargent House.