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Review Mon Sep 26 2011
Review: The Dodos, The Luyas, Grandkids @ Pygmalion Music Festival, 9/23
There's a strangely sparse yet full atmosphere in Grandkids' music that sounds partly like a band making conscious efforts to stay reserved and partly finding the right recipe. It's not difficult to hear the influences of current indie-folk, but there are all sorts of random hints bubbling underneath their music from a little garage-rock to some avant-garde stuff that reminded me of Imperial f.f.r.r. to 60s girl-pop and beyond. With a cello as a bass substitute, the foursome has some interesting room to explore by bringing it out from just being a rhythmic device. Even though this college band has a lot of promise in their songs, their greatest asset might be the spirited fans who crowded the chapel at the Channing-Murray Foundation, which actually reminded me of the defunct Epiphany, though without awesome steel supports. (Grandkids will be at the Fireside Bowl next Saturday, the 4th.)
Montreal's Luyas, another in a long line of Canadian supergroups, pushed "lush" to another level with an array of instruments you don't hear every day, like a moodswinger and French horn. Singer/guitarist/moodswingerist/pianist Jessie Stern, who's done time with Miracle Fortress, entranced the crowd with her high-pitched lithe vocals. Highlights included numerous songs from this year's Too Beautiful to Work, especially the title track. With a sound that rambles from psychedelic to poppy and minimal to dense, it might be tough for a band to sound concise, but the Luyas pull it off just by not getting too far from the source.
