I'm gonna operate under the assumption that everyone knows what an antler is. But a luya? Let alone multiple luyas? Kudos to you if you knew the answer without looking it up. But I digress, as I so often do. All you really need know about The Luyas is that they, like The Antlers with whom they played this here show, are splendid. Delightful. And downright fabulous. It is a lucky girl indeed who can go to a show and experience one great band. But two? I consider myself unfairly lucky on this one, friends. Yessiree.MINI RECAP: The Luyas = Lovely Loves! The Antlers = Astounding Astounders! Overall Score: A
The Luyas was already raring to go by the time I got parked and got myself out of the cold. To have been greeted by such a glowing, ethereal noise was a beautiful thing indeed. I found them both captivating and extremely interesting, these Luyas. They managed to call to mind my love of British bands of yore with the jangle of the guitar, while maintaining a lovely innocence and naïveté with pretty, sweetly childlike lady vocals. Their songs were complex in arrangement and beautiful to hear. They charmed with banter, too, relaying a hilarious story about hearing a "lucky couple" through the wall of a hotel while on the road who, when finished, put on some post-coital gangsta rap. After brief interludes like that it was back to the enchantment of their dreamlike, haunting tunes. Throwing in the odd dash of funk and fuzz just made me like them even more. Their set was such a delight, full of music with a twinkle in its eye and a skip in its step. It was like listening to a fairytale. As written, perhaps, by Sophia Coppola, perhaps.
When last I saw The Antlers, it was the end of February and they were opening for Editors over there at the 9:30 Club. It was a mighty fine show, and I was mighty looking forward to seeing them headline at the mighty fine Black Cat. And yes, it was just as mighty fine as I had hoped. I loved their set immediately, with the slightly sinister fringes building into one heck of a swell of lovely noise. They strike me as very theatric, this band, with their gloomy, brooding tendencies (in addition to their collective proclivity for making serious noise). I'm thinking I must have kinda forgotten just how very good they were when I saw them with Editors, because they about knocked me over, so fantastic were they. At times, they chased epicness, and it was glorious. Even the songs that weren't quite as sturm und drang felt solemn, but with a little bit of sunshine peeking through the clouds. But really, the bite of intensity this band gets when breaking into a spasm of extra serious rocking out? Sublime, darlings. Sublime.
In conclusion, I can say but this, friends. Goodness gracious me.
mp3: Tiny Head (The Luyas [newish song] - buy debut Faker Death)
mp3: VCR (The xx Cover) (The Antlers - buy shit here) (thanks to Captain Obvious for a mighty fine covers mixtape!)
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