June 5, 2010

Local Natives & Suckers @ Mississippi Studios

I have no idea what the future holds for indie music labels, but last week's sold out concert at Mississippi Studios demonstrated the value of the label as a trusted music curator. The lineup featured two new Frenchkiss Records bands: Local Natives, who released their debut (in the U.S.) in February and Suckers, who release their debut this month. These two indie rock bands paired perfectly, taking their use of world beats and poly-rhythms in too different directions: Suckers a step towards the dance floor and Local Natives a step towards the campfire.

While I've liked Local Natives since I first heard "Sun Hands" last year, I don't think Gorilla Manor really clicked for me until I saw the songs performed live. During songs like "World News", the Local Native reminded me of the Fleet Foxes with power choruses. While always central to their songs, the vocals harmonies were more impressive in person and tribal beats became palpable in a small club like Mississippi Studios. The combination of rhythms and vocals moved from being aurally to physically pleasurable. It is exactly that transformative experience that continually draws me out to concerts even when I have to be at work at 6 AM the next morning.

Suckers were similarly great. Their herky-jerky dance music, full of sing-alongs, yelps and falsettos, got the crowd moving and cheering. It was a performance guaranteed to generate excitement for the upcoming release of Wild Smile. The songs constantly shifted from pop to dance to psychedelic. The electric "Black Sheep" and woozy "It Gets Your Body Movin'" were particularly fantastic that night.

4 Comments:

Nightrain said...

Exploiting little kids in videos is apparently the thing to do these days.

Mona said...

This song's nice and relaxing, but the scenic backdrop of this video is way too distracting. It's like ocean porn!

Nightrain said...

Uh... I think I speak for all of us who grew up by the ocean: "You can never have too much ocean porn."

Mona said...

Hahahhaha, I actually meant that in a good way (as in, ooooh), but then also in a slightly bad way since I was more interested in the background than the song itself!

You should try to catch Oceans while it's still in the theatres. It's very... satisfying!