Arriving at Tut’s about 15 minutes before support Novo Line is supposed to take the stage the famous venue is strangely abandoned, not what you’d expect considering the hype when Lower Dens track ‘Brains’ hit earlier in the year.
And with A’s ‘Nothing’ along with other pop rock tracks you thought and wished you’d forgotten from your teens playing in the background, things were shaping up for an odd evening.
However, when Novo Line does take the stage the vibe certainly changes but remains rather ominous as the hoody clad individual barrages the few in attendance with some apocalyptic minimal sounds.
Sporadic heavy bass combines with unnerving beats creating a kind of intense sci-fi chiller soundtrack feel.
Although the show is not exactly visually stimulating, as the distressing visuals although seem to capture the powerful sound well they’re barely visible due to limited backdrop at Tut’s, if you let the music take over you soon get sucked in.
By the end of the set it’s a relief, but in as positive a way as possible, like you’d gone through an intense and endurance testing but ultimately rewarding experience… I enjoyed it, although I might have been the only one.
Lower Dens are no where near as ominous, either in an intense or awkward sort of way, the venue now, although not packed, is thankfully handsomely attended.
The four-piece’s ethereal shoegazing beauty is something you could easily drift away to but the rhythm section seems to grasp you in a live setting much more than it does on record.
These guys know how to get toes tapping too as pop hooks combine with Jana Hunter’s drearily engaging vocals to grasp the crowd’s atension on a bitterly cold Thursday night.
The Baltimore based act blame “all of six minutes of Lawrence of Arabia” and its contrast to the British countryside for being “spaced out” but Hunter says this like it’s a bad thing, the distant, ‘spaced out’ delivery of Lower Dens just adds to their charm.
As feedback shrills in your ears and the almost ricocheting rhythm builds before giving way to melodic keys on the band’s stand out, the aforementioned ‘Brains’, the splendour of the set all seems to come together.
That’s not to say Lower Dens don’t have their unsettling moments too adding intense synths to comforting soundscapes to create an uncomforting feel, toying with the crowd before delighting with another toe tappingly luxurious track.
It’s brilliant stuff from a band that just seem to be going from strength to strength.
Photos: Iain Scott
