Alvvays, Absolutely Free and Matt Kivel live at The Echo
Those of you who follow my (or more likely those of Alvvays and - if you live within the banlieue of Los Angeles - The Echo in Echo Park) twitter feed will have noted the increasing air of desperation and ultimately pessimism as my attempts to obtain tickets for Alvvays' gig at the Echo Friday night appeared to have been scuppered...
You may have read my review of the band's debut album - an album which in my humble opinion is not only one of this year's best indie-pop albums, it is arguably one of the best indie-pop albums of the past 30-odd years. But my chances of seeing the band appeared doomed. No tickets were available from the venue, the band had the gig listed as a sell-out... But then - mid-afternoon - a limited number were suddenly available... I didn't require a second invitation.
As I walk into the Echo, Best Coast are blasting over the PA. I take this as an omen that a good time is going to be had by all and so I'm well set for the night's opening act Matt Kivel (or more accurately, Matt on vocals and guitar and Mike on drums) and a set full of melodic and thoughtful, introspective songs and a finely honed voice to match.
But if Matt Kivel was at times reflective and introverted, Absolutely Free, the multi-instrumentalist Toronto trio of Matt King, Moshe Rozenberg, and Mike Claxton were most definitely extrovert. With a heady mix of synths and percussion here was a wild, exhilarating and innovative wall of noise that mixed prog-rock with industrial synth-pop and the experimental sound of eighties 4AD. There was something totally hypnotic in the way that all three instrumentalists (Rozenberg on drums, with vocalist King providing additional percussion and Claxton predominantly on synth) managed to meld a cacophony of discordant rhythms into a single pulsating force, especially when Rozenberg and King combined to generate a crescendo of ferocious noise.
By the time Alvvays take the stage, the witching hour is rapidly approaching and The Echo absolutely heaving. The band's appearance coinciding with the majestic and uplifting orchestral movement that is ABBA's "Arrival" - if you want to announce that you have indeed 'arrived' then this is good as piece as any with which to make that statement.
And without further ado, the band launch straight into "The agency group" - a song that on record is incredibly introspective and bitter-sweet - but, and I'm not quite sure why I should still be consistently amazed by the way that any song performed live always appears to have more energy and that added buzz of excitement - but live, there's a new level of heightened anticipation and yearning injected by Molly Rankin's gloriously disarming voice.
The set is effectively a live rendition of their debut album, if not quite in the chronological order that Dum Dum Girls treated us to with their recent "Too True" set, but even allowing for the fact that Alvvays may not have as extensive a back catalogue as Dee Dee Penny, it was great to hear the album in the raw, full of boundless energy and confirming that the album is destined to become an instant classic.
And it's also live that you get to see all the dynamics of the band in play; Molly Rankin is centre-stage, bouncing around on guitar and vocals, flanked by Kerri MacLellan, studiously hunched over her keyboards and providing some sweet vocal harmonies and - to her right - Alec O'Hanley, merrily shredding his Fender to such a degree that a string went AWOL during "Archie, marry me" - totally unfazed an almost seamless switch to Molly's spare guitar ensued... All the time, bassist Brian Murphy and Phil MacIsaac on drums made sure that everyone was zoned into the beat.
It's obvious that everyone - the band and crowd - is having fun. Even during the running repairs, Molly regales us with tales of palm trees (not a native species north of the 49th), the dangers of promo shoots in LA, the promise of 'muscle relaxants and alcohol' and thanks us for buying the album, although reckoning that this is the reason we're all here...
The album's songs are all performed with some vigour; "Adult diversion" and the aforementioned "Archie" (especially as Molly launches into the chorus of 'Hey, Hey, Marry me, Arch-cheeeeeee") are given the treatment these destined to be indie-pop anthems deserve. We're also treated to "Underneath us" - apparently originally released on cassette only release if the album was bought from an independent record shop (which can be a little thin on the ground) This is a gorgeous anthemic song, muddied vocals, imposing synth and howling guitars that almost - but not - threatens to break-out into a Jesus and Mary Chain wall of howling feedback... Luckily for us, those nice people at Alvvay's European label, Transgressive, have made the song available for download via Soundcloud. Check it out below:
You may have read my review of the band's debut album - an album which in my humble opinion is not only one of this year's best indie-pop albums, it is arguably one of the best indie-pop albums of the past 30-odd years. But my chances of seeing the band appeared doomed. No tickets were available from the venue, the band had the gig listed as a sell-out... But then - mid-afternoon - a limited number were suddenly available... I didn't require a second invitation.
As I walk into the Echo, Best Coast are blasting over the PA. I take this as an omen that a good time is going to be had by all and so I'm well set for the night's opening act Matt Kivel (or more accurately, Matt on vocals and guitar and Mike on drums) and a set full of melodic and thoughtful, introspective songs and a finely honed voice to match.
But if Matt Kivel was at times reflective and introverted, Absolutely Free, the multi-instrumentalist Toronto trio of Matt King, Moshe Rozenberg, and Mike Claxton were most definitely extrovert. With a heady mix of synths and percussion here was a wild, exhilarating and innovative wall of noise that mixed prog-rock with industrial synth-pop and the experimental sound of eighties 4AD. There was something totally hypnotic in the way that all three instrumentalists (Rozenberg on drums, with vocalist King providing additional percussion and Claxton predominantly on synth) managed to meld a cacophony of discordant rhythms into a single pulsating force, especially when Rozenberg and King combined to generate a crescendo of ferocious noise.
By the time Alvvays take the stage, the witching hour is rapidly approaching and The Echo absolutely heaving. The band's appearance coinciding with the majestic and uplifting orchestral movement that is ABBA's "Arrival" - if you want to announce that you have indeed 'arrived' then this is good as piece as any with which to make that statement.
And without further ado, the band launch straight into "The agency group" - a song that on record is incredibly introspective and bitter-sweet - but, and I'm not quite sure why I should still be consistently amazed by the way that any song performed live always appears to have more energy and that added buzz of excitement - but live, there's a new level of heightened anticipation and yearning injected by Molly Rankin's gloriously disarming voice.
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| Alvvay's Molly Rankin and Kerri MacLellan |
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| Molly Rankin |
It's obvious that everyone - the band and crowd - is having fun. Even during the running repairs, Molly regales us with tales of palm trees (not a native species north of the 49th), the dangers of promo shoots in LA, the promise of 'muscle relaxants and alcohol' and thanks us for buying the album, although reckoning that this is the reason we're all here...
The album's songs are all performed with some vigour; "Adult diversion" and the aforementioned "Archie" (especially as Molly launches into the chorus of 'Hey, Hey, Marry me, Arch-cheeeeeee") are given the treatment these destined to be indie-pop anthems deserve. We're also treated to "Underneath us" - apparently originally released on cassette only release if the album was bought from an independent record shop (which can be a little thin on the ground) This is a gorgeous anthemic song, muddied vocals, imposing synth and howling guitars that almost - but not - threatens to break-out into a Jesus and Mary Chain wall of howling feedback... Luckily for us, those nice people at Alvvay's European label, Transgressive, have made the song available for download via Soundcloud. Check it out below:
It's a lightening fast set - just in fact time to reprise two new songs - both very much guitar-fueled and hinting that the oh-so-difficult sophomore album probably won't be - and a blinding cover of The Primitives "Out of reach" with Molly performing her best Tracy Tracy impersonation and which wouldn't sound out of place back in 1988.
Yet again another cracking gig at The Echo (arguably alongside the El Rey, my favourite venue) and confirmation - if further were still needed - that Alvaays are a band destined for great things. I'm already penciling a date for the next time the band are in town.
Yet again another cracking gig at The Echo (arguably alongside the El Rey, my favourite venue) and confirmation - if further were still needed - that Alvaays are a band destined for great things. I'm already penciling a date for the next time the band are in town.
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