The best soccer coaches will tell you, check the key to the sport is changing speed and direction. But, I digress…
On this night, Krill was good: the band played music between punk, garage, and, at times, a hint of pop, combining dynamic musical play with sincere lyrics- creating a sound that feels like something of their own. Their opening number came off as a punk-y stroll: guitar, bass, drum in unison- thud thud, pang, th-thud thud pang- then abruptly halting for vocals- comedic, angry or serious- following right back into rhythmic variations from the full band. The key to the pleasure of their live set was in this constant change of pace. Sometimes, the three components were concurrent – as when the Jonah’s voice traced the notes of the lead guitar- but invariably off kilter as well; each song felt intentionally non-linear. These theatrics, this stop and go punk style, created a sound that, as is the case with life, never really reaches a point of settling. Krill asked, “maybe I’d be happier”- but they didn’t sit there long enough to really pose the contrarian message. Indeed, the lead singer was motionless during most of the set, only his head snaking around the microphone, his necks’ fluidity trying to keep up with the quick moving progression of the music. There was some concentration implied through this body language. Krill bounced back and forth between the extremes, but these highs and lows come, like all things, for better or worse: circumstance is something anyone can level with.
Frankie Cosmos was enjoyable: compared to the implied liveliness of Krill, Frankie Cosmos served its role as an intermediary linking the hybrid punk of Krill, to the soft, ethereal sounds of Mutual Benefit. It was a set that featured a continuation of garage plunked bass and guitar, accompanied by pleasant, vocal harmonies. If it felt like mood music, fine; Frankie Cosmos provided a much-needed change of direction, considering the headlining act.
What does a feature on Pitchfork get you? On this night, Mutual Benefit didn’t have to be too explicit: a fair share of buzz. Great Scott provided the perfect intimacy for eager show-goers and music/LP enthusiasts/critics who were more than happy to get a live taste of Benefit’s romantic, dream-folk sound. When they remind us, “and the river only knows to carry on”, its hard to call this group anything but folk. The lyrics seek a positivist redemption- “you are born again, ooo, ooo, ooo/ you are going to die/you are born again ooo, ooo, ooo”: birth, rebirth, there’s an obvious life cycle here, one that has seemed to slip our mind. Mutual Benefit wants to remind us of the absurdity of the modern condition. While we may “stare into the void,” Benefit reminds us that we can “see a friendly face”: we carry on, however tragically, just like the river.
And Mutual Benefit’s sound played perfect companion to these folk rooted lyrics. As a release from this world, the band threw the listener into a dreamscape, most obviously felt during their opening: sweet violin, bongo inspired drumming, effervescent guitar and piano, and a deep seated, pounding bass to occasionally ground the sound. The group conjured a planetary utopia, as if walking through a mystical jungle pulsing with virility, arms extended, fingertips grazing against the brush. This is not your average jungle, but one that poses zero threat; sunbeams shoot through the lush, green canopy. Mutual Benefit doesn’t simply want to wash away the pain, their peace-laced music holds onto an apparently fleeting optimism.
In the end, each band played their part. And while Mutual Benefit lived up to the hype, they perhaps, if only slightly, took this excitement for granted: according to the state of things, this is what the crowd wants; I’d say- it’s nice to dream, but we can’t all “call to quit our job today”, or can we? Heck, hope swallows easy, especially when its colored green. On the other hand, Krill may be digging their own niche- a hole that receives attention only after we’ve filled it. Who knows, their rhythmic proclivities may, like recent punk risers Parquet Courts (who played for Fallon last week), give punk some more pop.
