Audio By Carbonatix
Quite the hopping hump day we have here. While Monday and Tuesday each had a couple of interesting musical offerings, this particular Wednesday night has a bounty of choices for those in search of cool sounds.
Vampire Weekend, Beach House and The Very Best at the Palladium Ballroom
Sure,
New York’s Vampire Weekend is almost too hip for its own good, but that
shouldn’t detract from the band’s indie rock charms. Ezra Koenig
and crew are classic slackers, mid-20s smartasses who have somehow
stumbled into success in spite of themselves. Plus, Koenig plays well with others: Opening act The Very Best released its
debut effort, Warm Heart of Africa, last year and Koenig contributed to
that record along with M.I.A., among others. Also adding to the indie charisma of tonight’s
bill is Baltimore’s Beach House. Composed of Alex Scally and Victoria
Legrand, Beach House creates the kind of dream pop most music critics
salivate over. And regular old music fans seem to dig the duo as well.
Local Natives, The Love Language and The Union Line at the House of Blues
Interestingly,
Los Angeles’ Local Natives are often compared to Vampire Weekend,
although Taylor Rice and the rest of this indie quintet are a bit more
esoteric. Gorilla Manor, Local Natives’ impressive debut, is filled with
interesting harmonies and first-rate compositions. Songs such as
“Airplanes” and “Sin Hands” are hummable creations that should have
audience members singing along. North Carolina’s The Love Language and
California’s The Union Line are also on tonight’s bill and both are
worth getting to the venue early to check out.
Light Pollution, Prince Rama and Sleep Over at Hailey’s Club in Denton
Light
Pollution is a hip little quartet out of Chicago that incorporates
psychedelic chillwave and shoegaze into a heady indie rock concoction. Perhaps a bit too layered for its own good, the music of Light Pollution can
be a bit remote for the uninitiated. But there are definitely pleasures
to be had in the tape manipulations of songs such as “Good Feelings”
and “Drunk Kids.” Brooklyn’s Prince Rama and Austin’s Sleep Over should
provide ample support on this very intriguing triple bill.
Phantogram and Josiah Wolf at The Loft
Phantogram
is an electronic duo hailing out of New York comprised of Josh Carter
and Sarah Barthel. Formed in 2007, the band was originally known as
Charlie Everywhere and quickly drew praise for its kinetic live
performances. Phantogram’s sound is certainly aimed more towards the
feet than to the brain, but that shouldn’t stop a cool collection of
well-dressed concert goers from enjoying what Carter and Barthel have to
offer. Josiah Wolf, currently the drummer for the indie rock band Why?,
will open the proceedings with his poetic, slightly psychedelic neo-pop
creations. All in all, it’s yet another interesting bill on a busy, busy Wednesday
evening.
