The Maple Tigers headlined a mega-melodic show at the Lion’s Lair on Thursday. Photos by Reverb contributor .
Some people have an innate ear for melody. Their ability to write singular lines of melody that grab the ear and tickle the mind is undeniable and almost otherworldly — and you might think it a fluke, but then the next song comes on and the melodic throughline is every bit as fascinating as the previous title.
Denver’s lucky to have multiple songwriters falling into this category, what with killer pop music coming from artists as diverse as Widowers and the Hollyfelds, Ian Cooke and Hearts of Palm (formerly Nathan & Stephen), the Beebs and Pee Pee.
Two other Denver bands that seem to have a native sense of tunefulness played a show together at the Lion’s Lair on Thursday — and — and it made for a joyous collaboration/celebration of local independent music.
Darren Dunn and Sylas Cooley front Maple Tigers, which makes for a delightful indie pop confection — something of a surprise for anyone familiar with their old band, landlordland. Whereas landlordland was known for its abrasive rock music and exciting live shows, Maple Tigers make for a brighter collaboration — every bit as exciting as landlordland but presented in a much more digestible package.
Wearing a homemade “LIVE AT THE LIONS LAIR” T-shirt with an upside-down cross sketched on it, Dunn sang lead on most of the songs on Thursday, his voice penetrating his band’s tight pop montage with an impressive clarity. He clearly has a way with melody, and his meandering guitar work was only outperformed by his power-pop vocal lines, which, along with the solid rhythm section, had a couple girls dancing and a bunch of guys begrudgingly nodding their heads.
As with most power/indie pop, Maple Tigers are at their best when Dunn and Cooley harmonize with each other. As heard in tracks “Eagles Nest” and “Leaving Here With You,” the two frontmen’s vocals compliment each other nicely. (In other songs Cooley takes the aggro back-up to Dunn’s more annunciated, pop approach — and even that works well.) “Leaving Here With You” is the band’s best song on their MySpace page, but the live version of that track far exceeds the demo recording on the web.
Playing before Maple Tigers’ headlining set was Kissing Party, one of Denver’s truly underappreciated gems. Fronted by singer-guitarist Gregg Dolan and singer Deirdre Sage, this twee/indie pop outfit was playing sans keys player Yana Kucher but with their newest addition in bass player Dunn, pulling double duty on Thursday.
Kissing Party plays a lovably loose set like nobody else in town. Some fans are put off by the band’s unique tonality, but they’re missing the point. Kissing Party’s vocals are exactly what the should be — daringly adorable, slightly off and a tad harried — and the music backs them up with precision playing.
Sure, a Kissing Party show isn’t nearly as clean as their excellent 2007 release “Rediscover Lovers,” ranked as the No. 3 local release of last year on this critic’s year-end list. But isn’t that what great indie pop is about?
On a local level you can look to the most recent Cowboy Curse shows, which resemble a punk rock outing moreso than anything from their stunning release “Nod Up and Down (to the Simulcast Singing).” On a national level there are countless examples, from Architechture in Helsinki to Wolf Parade.
Changing off vocals and tossing miniature tambourines into the crowd, Kissing Party’s set was lively and electric. The group isn’t always happy with the indie pop moniker so often bestowed upon them, and to their credit, they’re more about rock ’n’ roll than many of their counterparts.
The two stand-out tracks from Thursday’s show at the somewhat crowded Lion’s Lair were “Happy” and “A Carful of Queens.” The talky crowd took time away from their conversations to notice the careful melodic stylings of a Denver group that deserves a lot more attention. And the band thanked them with a song they’d never played live before — and it sounded good.
Ricardo Baca is the pop music critic for The Denver Post.
See more of Reverb contributor Laurie Scavo’s photos .
