Putting my love for Pretty & Nice into words is a difficult task. I refer you to our writer Sami’s piece this week looking back on P&N’s career, malady because she has said it better than any of us. After nine years, check P&N are calling it quits leaving a legacy of Boston bands in its wake, order and what better way to end it than a dance party with all their friends at Great Scott. The whole bill was a dream come true with support from Infinity Girl, Krill and Ava Luna.
Infinity Girl hadn’t been around in a while, because in case you missed it, they moved out of Boston and onto the Brooklyn life. It had been a hot minute since I saw Infinity Girl live, and it’s always an extreme pleasure. They perfectly blend chill vibes of dream pop with enough edge and noise to keep everyone interested. Guitar tones were reminiscent of Pavement deep cuts, and the set felt very timely to the end of summer. The crowd strayed far from the stage at the beginning, and everyone was soon piling into Great Scott for the show.
What more could I say about Krill that I haven’t said before? The Krill boys are done with their new album this week, and look forward to hearing it in the future. The new tracks from the album were downright blissful, even in the moments of sadcore we know so well from Krill. Songs like “Phantom” and “Foot” present a matured Krill focusing on the layers of their instruments, especially showcasing some more intricate shred skills from Aaron Ratoff on guitar. I wasn’t alone in enjoying the new songs, and the rest of the crowd was into them as much as their back catalogs. The guy next to me couldn’t stand still and acted as if this was Krill’s last show, dancing as much as he could to enjoy every last moment.
Ava Luna has had a bit of trouble in the past year getting their butts to Boston for shows, canceling due to various reasons. Their luck was better this time around although not perfect; their van broke down shortly after arriving for the show in Boston. Ava Luna could be the next wave of the Talking Heads. The way the members of the band harmonize their voices and instruments into a funky, soulful brand of indie rock is unlike any other band right now. Each member is so talented that it’s hard to pin point which instruments stand out the most. Even the most simple drumbeats from Julian Fader sound perfectly orchestrated. Carlos Hernandez and Becca Kauffman on dueling guitars each create an interesting tone delightfully traveling through your ear canals with backing synth and bass from Felicia Douglass and Ethan Bassford, respectfully, to keep the beat smooth. The audience took some time to warm up, but the second half of the set brought the band’s truly funky tunes including “Daydream,” “Sears Roebuck M&Ms,” and “PRPL” off their newest album Electric Balloon. A dance party ensued that wouldn’t finish until the end of the night. Their set felt suspiciously flawless, like I was listening to the record in my bedroom. It translated perfectly to a live set.
And here we are at the end of the night. Pretty & Nice are taking the stage to what I thought would be filled with bittersweet anecdotes and sentimental stories. They skipped that bullshit and just put on one hell of a set. Dancing was instant from the audience, most of whom have been fans of the band from the beginning in 2005. Interestingly enough, the show also coincided with the release of a new tape from the band, Infinitely Forever, the title of which reminds me of “Theme from Krill,” an ironic look at how the band thought it was breaking up. This time unfortunately it is for real. This would most likely be Pretty & Nice’s last. Set. Ever. Pretty & Nice performed bangers spanning their entire career that would make Miley Cyrus weep over her newly acquired mini pig Bubba Sue. Songs like “Mummy Jets,” “Q_Q,” “Money Music,” and “Capsules” were standouts.
Sentimental moments did occur throughout the night of course. At one point, Jeremy’s guitar fluked, so Holden lent his to finish the song. Roger danced around the stage while playing bass, meeting Jeremy and Holden halfway. Holden and Roger shared an electronic synth spaceship together for a song. Towards the end of the set, they performed two new tracks off Infinitely Forever, which sees the band moving towards a much more electronic sound than previous albums that have focused on their mathy guitar tones. For the encore, former drummer Kevin Walsh tagged in for a song. They covered The Beatles’ “Daytripper.” The encore ended with friends from the audience joining the band on stage for a dance party. The group hugs at the end almost brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t want to cry guys, so thanks for that.
Pretty & Nice paved the way for cutting edge bands we see in the Boston music scene today, even if they don’t know if yet. You like your mathy and intricate guitars? You like your pop? Pretty & Nice helped make those two genres mesh in a way that fed the appetite of different styled music lovers everywhere. They will be missed, and we can only wish the dudes lots of luck with projects in the future.
