popwreckoning

In the wide world of female performers, you have two camps: one that values extravagant style over substance (e.g., Lady Gaga, Beyonce, recent upstart Kreayshawn) and the other valuing substance over their own understated style (the folk singers, generally). Of the latter category is 20-year old Alessi Laurent-Marke, who records under the name Alessi’s Ark. Laurent-Marke will be getting her first widespread North American debut as the Londoner supports Laura Marling on a 2-week tour of our continent.

She will also be promoting her first full-length release in America, Time Travel, scheduled for release on September 27 on Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union label. (The album was already released in the UK in April, and there are some songs on Spotify [some old, some new] to tide you over until the actual release of the album here.) I am quite pleased that Alessi’s Ark is finally getting attention on this side of the Atlantic, as I’ve been keeping tabs on Laurent-Marke since her first album, Notes from the Treehouse, was released in Britain in 2009.

Alessi’s Ark songs generally follow one rule: they’re all very short. On Time Travel, only the title track and “Stalemate” go over 3 minutes, with some of the other songs not even going past the 2-minute mark. This can be good or bad; in the good sense, Laurent-Marke’s thoughts are put into small, compact compartments, like something you want to scuttle away in a dark corner of your pocket and save for a rainy day. But in the bad sense, you’re left wondering where the song would have gone, had she decided to soldier on with her thoughts. The best example on the album is “Wire” (download it from Bella Union here, video below). It appears to be a cryptic love letter to an important woman in her life (her mother? a lover?) that is now dearly departed. Yet there is also clear the acknowledgment that she feels lost, forsaken, and misunderstood (“I’m tired of walking this wire / it keeps me awake for heaven sake / I was made for this girl / I feel lonely / my friends don’t seem to know me / like I thought they did / I thought they did, but they don’t”). The angst of growing up is of course a common theme across many genres of music, but I’d like someone to come up with a song as elegant as this.

The beauty does not end there. “Run,” barely clocking in at a minute and a half, is the musical equivalent of seeing the moon’s reflection in a still lake. In “On the Plains,” Laurent-Marke uses simple chord changes against her effortless vocals for a simple love song. Flutes add a level of whimsy to this track, and throughout the album, you will find also find brass instruments supporting the standard folk backdrop of thoughtful guitars and Laurent-Marke’s calm voice. It’s almost unbelievable that someone so young could have such great control over the sounds that come out of her mouth. Then again, remind yourself who she’s touring with: Laura Marling, merely 1 year her senior. In the tune “Stalemate,” she admits, “the only thing I’ve learnt is I like singing / all the lessons that the guitar is bringing.” Something America should learn – and quickly: all aboard Alessi’s Ark, and prepare to enjoy the ride.

Time Travel, the first American release for Alessi’s Ark, will be released on September 27 on Bella Union. Catch Laurent-Marke on tour, supporting Laura Marling, on the dates below.

Track Listing
01. Kind of Man
02. Wire
03. On The Plains
04. Must’ve Grown
05. Time Travel
06. The Fever
07. Blanket
08. Maybe I Know
09. Stalemate
10. The Robot
11. Run
12. The Bird Song

Tour Dates (supporting Laura Marling)
Sept 22 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago
Sept 23 – Great Hall / Toronto
Sept 24 – Corona / Montreal
Sept 25 – Brighton Music Hall / Boston
Sept 27 – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue / Washington, DC
Sept 28 – Webster Hall / New York City

Alessi’s Ark: website | myspace

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the second show of Jónsi‘s this week in Washington. The first on Monday sold out quickly, so I figured the people present for Tuesday’s show would be the kind of folks who did not jump on tickets when this Jónsi solo tour was announced – like obsessed Sigur Ros fans. After chatting with some people in line outside the 9:30, it was clear many people who had seen the first show had been so enthralled by the performance, they immediately bought tickets to the second afterward. Hardcore. Once inside, I ran into one of my friends who informed me, “he was amazing last night. This show is going to be terrible, because he used up all his energy last night. He must be exhausted.” However, during the 1 hour-plus show, I detected no signs that Jónsi‘s energy was flagging. Quite the opposite: as the set wore on, he seemed to gain power from the love that was pouring in his direction from the audience.

The opening act were three women collectively known as Mountain Man. (I chuckled to myself when I realized there wasn’t going to be a man at all onstage during their performance.) Interestingly, they’re signed to Simon Raymonde‘s Bella Union label in the UK, the same label that also has American bands like Beach House and Fleet Foxes on their roster. The band “stars” the ethereal voices of Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Amelia Randall Meath and an acoustic guitar used very sparingly. It sure made a refreshing change to see an indie folk band that didn’t have everything but the kitchen sink onstage to play on (which was essentially what you saw when Jónsi and his band had their turn). When you have nothing but your voices to rely on, you’ve got to have the harmonies just right. I wonder how much they practice, but wow, the merging of those three female voices sound amazing. Have a listen to their track “Soft Skin” on their MySpace and you’ll see what I mean.

Jónsi first appeared with acoustic guitar, playing “Stars in Still Water.” I was more focused on what he was wearing – it looked like something a Scottish hobo might wear, a red themed number with bits of plaid fabric sewn together and lots of feathers, with scraps of fabric hanging down it. The rest of his band came in during the second number, and I noticed they all had similar outfits but in more muted colors. As mentioned earlier, there were a lot of instruments onstage for Jónsi‘s set, including piano, synths, xylophone (which fascinatingly was played with bows at one point), glockenspiel, guitars, ukulele, and drums. Suitcases that presumably held all this stuff were used themselves as percussion (manual kick drums) and chairs. It all lent a very free spirited air to the proceedings. You can love or hate Jónsi‘s falsetto but there’s no question that his voice is something almost inhuman, as evidenced by the way he can hold the last note of a song for a very, very long time.

Usually you don’t get a cinematic experience at the 9:30 Club and to be honest, the only other shows I’ve ever seen there that had any sort of visual element running the entire length of the gig were Doves in 2009 and Broken Bells earlier this year. Jónsi‘s set-up was interesting such that depending on which song was being played, you could feel like you were running with antelope, flying with butterflies or owls, or drowning in a room rapidly filling up with water. You could call it a total sensory experience.

Throughout the set, guys and girls of all ages were going all verklempt behind me, sighing “oh my god” after each song. While I myself was not as emotionally transported like these people were, I can appreciate Jónsi‘s artistry. Just on the basis of the amazing crown of feathers he wore for the encore, you could definitely say he is one of a kind.

Jónsi Set List
Stars in Still Water
Hengilas
Icicle Sleeves
Kolnidur
Tornado
Sinking Friendships
Saint Naive
Go Do
Boy Lilikoi
Piano Des
Animal Arithmetic
New Piano Song (exactly as shown on the set list!)
Around Us
//
Stick and Stones
Grow Till Tall

Jónsi: website | myspace
Mountain Man: myspace

Tuesday night at the 9:30 Club should have been captioned “the Night of Squeals.” Barring the predictable female reaction for Paolo Nutini I witnessed last summer (lots of screaming and near fainting), I have never heard so many superlatives and proclamations of “oh my god” coming from fanboys and fangirls alike. This felt like a surprising response, for this was for a show featuring three acts from three very different backgrounds: Melbourne-based rock band the Temper Trap co-headlined with London pop/soul singer Florence Welch (fronting the collective Florence and the Machine), with support provided by Danish indie rock group the Kissaway Trail. Looking back, it now seems quite appropriate that on the day, D.C. was experiencing completely unusual sweltering temperatures for the beginning of April, because the action on stage was equally as torrid.

The Kissaway Trail is a five-piece rock band from Odense, Denmark, signed to Simon Raymonde‘s Bella Union label in Europe. I first heard of them via their second album Sleep Mountain, to be released in America on April 20. Their songs run the gamut of dream pop (every member providing harmonizing vocals, like in the awe-inspiring “SDP” that closed out their set) to all-out rock jams with wailing guitars. Lead singer Thomas L. Fagerlund, looking most definitely not Danish wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap, alternated between keyboards and guitar while providing powerful vocals. “New Lipstick,” another track from Sleep Mountain, was a set highlight for me. Unexpectedly, what I found funny about their performance was their sixth “member.” I’m not sure if he was a friend, roadie, or tour manager, but he was throwing his body into every shake of his tambourine and maracas, to the point that I thought his suspenders might break off.

Florence Welch, frontwoman for Florence and the Machine, arrived on stage, cocktail in hand, wearing an all black outfit that was topped off with a black hat that did a good job of obscuring her trademark fiery red hair. Almost. During her soulful, less than 1-hour set, she sang to a Washington crowd that appeared to know every single word of every single song from her 2009 Mercury Prize-nominated debut album, Lungs, that she played. Fans behind me swayed as if put in a trance by their pop heroine. This was possible, as during some songs like “Blinding” (where she wrapped herself in a shawl and you could barely see her face) and “Between Two Lungs,” Welch looked possessed by the music. When she tested the audience to jump higher and more vigorously to crowd favorite “Dog Days are Over” than fans the previous night in Philadelphia, everyone enthusiastically took up the challenge, pogo-ing along with the London singer with her bare, very long legs.

“Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” is probably the best Florence and the Machine song in terms of eliciting audience participation, and as a set closer, it was amazing watching everyone’s arms in the air as the song lyrics instruct. The crowd loved it and the whole set, and who could blame them? I would like to note that anyone receiving that level of adulation would have been excused for feeling cocky, soaking up the adoration of the masses. But not Welch, who would smile almost bashfully at the crowd, thanking them in a soft-spoken voice when fans sang along to her songs, cheered for her, and shouted “I love you Florence!” I’m not a huge fan of Welch’s singing style, but I have to admit, she has incredible charisma on stage, and there’s no wonder why this ginger siren sells out large venues in the UK so quickly and easily every time she announces a tour at home.

Florence and the Machine Set List
Howl
Kiss with a Fist
Hurricane Drunk
My Boy Builds Coffins
Between Two Lungs
Drumming Song
Cosmic Love
Blinding
I’m Not Calling You a Liar
Dog Days are Over
You’ve Got the Love (the Source / Candi Staton cover)
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

For a brief moment between the headlining sets, it was possible to stretch and get a breath of fresh air at the barrier, because many Florence fans left the club as soon as her set was over. But their prime spots were quickly snapped up by equally fanatical Temper Trap devotees. I was really interested to see this act because I was not blown away by their debut album Conditions, so I hoped they would sound better live. And boy, I was right. The album is like an attempt to bottle dynamite. The Temper Trap‘s brand of thrilling guitar rock with lead singer’s Dougie Mandagi‘s unusual (for a man in rock) falsetto is just damn exciting in concert. I was expecting their hits “Sweet Disposition” and “Fader” to be amazing (and they were). But equally great or possibly even better were “Soldier On,” with lead guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto trading his guitar temporarily to play keyboards and bassist Jonathan Ahearne‘s sultry bass line, and “Love Lost,” with a lighting backdrop reminiscent of Phoenix‘s “1901.”

The show-stopping moment of the night was when Mandagi drank from a bottle of water, then poured the remaining contents of the bottle on the top of a big drum for the appropriately-titled instrumental “Drum Song.” He then threw the bottle into the crowd and started pounding the drum furiously with two sticks. This provided an unexpected, appreciated, but all too brief cool off for the sweaty crowd. The last song of the night was “Science of Fear,” my favorite from Conditions, had Mandagi’s commanding voice and jangly guitars that got bodies moving. Just perfect. Keep an eye on this band, they could be the next big thing.

Personally, I think the Temper Trap killed it but the large contingent of Flo fans would have no doubt disagreed with me. If you’re interested in seeing any or all of these acts (and you should be!), please visit their MySpace pages for individual band tour info (see links below).

The Temper Trap Set List
instrumental intro
Rest
Fader
Fools
Down River
Love Lost
Soldier On
Sweet Disposition
Resurrection
Drum Song
//
Rabbit Hole (new song)
Science of Fear

The Temper Trap: website | myspace
Florence and the Machine: website | myspace | Mercury Prize Nominations Announced
The Kissaway Trail: website | myspace