Early shows in the summer always feel strange to me, since it's just so bright outside. Last night (or day), I checked out the early show at Mercury Lounge where Other Lives played, with Ravens & Chimes as support. Even though I was going out to a show when the sun still seemed too high for that, Mercury Lounge was dank and dark as if it the moon was out, and the bright side to early shows is that there's plenty of time to catch another show after that if you're feeling so ambitious.
Ravens & Chimes had already gotten started when I arrived, and although I'm not sold on their name, I did immediately think they were a good match on a bill with Other Lives, as they have a lot of the same folksy, thematic concepts. When lead singer Asher Lack spoke between songs, I could have sworn they were from the southwest, or some place where one would acquire a southern accent. Turns out, the band is from New York, having formed at NYU. I'm still not totally convinced. Or maybe I'm just really bad with accents. In their videos Asher seems to sing with more of an English accent. I'm confused, but moving on...
Their songs had heart. Watching them play was like watching your friend's band practicing in their garage, and only every so often did they seem aware of the crowd of people watching them. The majority of the songs lean toward the piano-rock genre, with some traces of 90s emo. What stands out with the piano is the atmospheric, and almost spooky at times, synth played by Avery Brooks. The spookiness had just the faintest hint of some of the same atmospheric qualities of Radiohead's Hail to the Thief album.
Ravens & Chimes played songs like "Carousel," the piano driven "Division St." (both of which, according to their blog, recently got licensed for an episode of the US adaptation of TV show Skins), and ended on a more rockin' number with anthemic vibe to it. If more people knew the words, this would have been the kind of song for people to sing along at the top of their lungs to.
The crowd came forward quick after their set, and Other Lives began assembling their intricate setup. I tried to count how many instruments, but so many kept popping up that it was hard to keep track - especially the range of small percussive instruments played by Jenny Hsu (that is, when she wasn't getting gorgeous sounds out of her cello or violin). She had her own little table in the corner, that looked like the band had built it with their own wood and brawn, with all kinds of things tucked in there. There was a xylophone on top, but throughout their set she pulled out everything from finger cymbals to antlers with bells on them. Yes, an animal's (my guess is a deer's) antlers with little bells attached. She held them up like giant claws with ribbons flowing from the bottom, and shook them briefly for a small part of one song only.
Other Lives mixed their instrumentation well between the vintage, the new, and the DIY. Besides all the standard rock band instruments, and the myriad of toys Hsu had to play with; they had a harmonium, an organ, another violin, a trumpet, vibraphone, several keyboards, and a couple laptops. Everyone in the band is a multi-instrumentalist. From what I could tell, every member of the band played at least 3 different instruments; sometimes more. Sometimes all in the same song. During one song, drummer Colby Owens pulled a clarinet out of nowhere to noodle on between drum rolls. Jonathon Mooney seemed to be the busiest, switching between guitar, trumpet, violin, vibes, and organ. He could adeptly set down his violin, swing his guitar to front, and slide his bow across the strings. I know that's been done before, but it's still cool.
They began their set with "As I Lay My Head Down," an ominous midwestern-esque song off their new album that makes me think of an old western draw at high noon. This is where Hsu first broke out the finger cymbals. Good opener for setting the mood. They sprinkled songs from their first self-titled album, but the bulk was off Tamer Animals, including the title track. And I have to say, all very impressively executed. All the songs they recreated to sound exactly like the recordings, but of course with that live intensity you can't experience any other way. All of their songs are clearly well thought-out, intricate compositions. I'm sure they have to practice just to be able to change instruments at exactly the right time. I'm always impressed when bands do things like that, and when I'm hearing sounds but I can't figure out what instrument is making it. There were several instances when I really thought I was hearing synth, but didn't see anyone playing one. It must have been those laptops that were tricking me. Either way, Other Lives have mastered the art of creating dramatic soundscapes. They could be an entire orchestra if they wanted to, but watching them do everything as a quintet is part of the fun. And despite all intricate arrangements, Tabish's voice pierces through it all, making bold and insightful lyrical observations.
Lead vocalist Jesse Tabish didn't bother playing the encore game at the end of their set. Everyone else exited the stage, but he stayed on to regale us with a solo rendition of "Black Tables;" beautifully done. Then the rest of the band came back to play a cover of Leonard Cohen's "The Partisan," another song of great storytelling. Other Lives' stories ended just after the sun had set, leaving us all to wander back out into the warm night. Or just to stay and hang out for the late show.
Other Lives are heading on down the east coast until they hit Alabama, then they turn west till California. Check out their website for all dates, live performance videos, tracks from the new album, and more. Ravens & Chimes have a couple dates in Canada for early July. You can listen to select tracks on Bandcamp, or get them all on iTunes.
http://www.bestnewbands.com/ staff writer Kelly Knapp is originally from Central Florida. She moved to New York to be able to catch 10 times as many live concerts. Nothing beats that feeling of being surrounded by reverberating live sound for her, although hot snickerdoodle coffee on a cold day comes close. Kelly is also an independent jewelry designer on Etsy, where she has a small collection of pieces inspired by her favorite songs. Besides trying to catch every live show she possibly can and designing mixtape jewelry, Kelly loves a messy lo-fi bedroom tune, that fuzzy sound a vinyl record makes that's kind of like a crackling fire, and a good jam session with her friends.
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