On , the band describes themselves as “ENYA with BOUNCE.” The description is short and sweet, and pretty accurate as far as their sound — though the way that sound is produced is anything but simple. The band — much larger live than on record, at least in terms of personnel — played a long set of mellifluous songs at the last Saturday night in front of a sold-out, gyrating crowd.
Interestingly, this Brooklyn-based band thatap often associated with electronic, New Order-influenced bands like Cut Copy or Daft Punk more often recalled the overall sound of ’80s progressive, easy-listening greats Toto and acts like Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark or Spandau Ballet.
The band — Anand Wilder, Chris Keating, Ira Tuton and Luke Fasano — created a danceable, beat-based world pop that sounded much bigger than its parts for most of the show. Somewhat different than the band that debuted at SXSW a few years ago, their sound showed a group that has moved to incorporate more international influence, and probably doubled in electronics.
Their current popularity — the show was sold out, as are many more on the tour schedule (and I heard a concertgoer in line before the show mention that tickets had topped the $150 price range) — bears out their decisions and progression, and the crowd seemed to love every second of the performance.
The true story of this show, however, was newcomer duo Sleigh Bells, who rocked the slowly-filling venue for about 40 minutes before Yeasayer’s set. Derek Miller (guitars with hoody) and Alexis Krauss (Screeches with flowing XXL T-shirt and tights) filled the place with minimalist rock chord crunch and hard rocking beats, hardcore-meets-pop high-pitched vocals and plenty of pure volume that ate up much of the anticipation the headliners had inspired, evidenced by the explosive, almost surprised applause after each song.
Krauss mimicked a young, brunette version of Blondie’s Deborah Harry in appearance, with vocals that recalled Melt-Banana’s Yasuko Onuki at times, while Miller stomped, jumped and wielded an overdriven red SG during songs like “A/B Machines” and “Infinity Guitars” and “Ring Ring.”
Anyone in the crowd who hadn’t heard of them before that night was surely seared with this future darling band, and with a sound that won’t soon wash out. They haven’t even released a record yet, but showed how little that matters now. Their set also extolled the virtues of well mixed and executed volume, and more than likely left a few ears ringing in short order.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
Joe McCabe is a Denver photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb. Check out his .
