Re-viewing the DIY scene

identical homes’ record release @ bottom of the hill

saturday night i hit the bottom of the hill in sf, to see identical homes for the release of their first record, a hydrophelia. but headlining that night was a band called sea lioness, who were also celebrating a digital release of a new ep. sea lioness was a five piece rock outfit, featuring members of cannons & clouds, with an easy listening vibe & spectacular vocal harmonies. they also had two percussionists, one on a full drum set, the other with a set of varying sized toms & a ride cymbal, which really helped propel the music into a heavier rock territory. as their set progressed, the music got more & more progressive as well, but they still hovered in a range of light rock & dance themes. they had a wonderful groove to all their songs, & the vocal harmonies were the icing on the cake. good fun & high energy gave their otherwise easy listening sound a memorable performance.

on stage before them was the brand new identical homes. a three/four piece group, with former members of the rum diary & shuteye unison, their music was a slight departure from their previous bands. mostly driven by keyboards & synths, this gave them a highly electronica sound, accentuated by live drums, & complimented by familiar guitar riffs & the delicate, yet haunting, vocals of songwriter daniel mckenzie. actually some of their new music seems to be more related to trent reznor’s more recent work (i. e. year zero, hesitation marks, & how to destroy angels) than any of their own past work, with the exception of the track miles & miles, which could easily fit on one of the shuteye unison records. most of the set was performed by three guys; dan on keys, synth, guitar & vocals, another keyboardist, & a drummer (sorry, i dont know who was who), but they were later joined by another guitarist. their set was also accompanied by projected slides, mostly environmental stuff (i. e. landscapes & wildlife). they played a soothing, yet powerful set, comprised of many of the songs on their new record, which dan was kind enough to send me a copy of & i will soon review in full. it was a great set, its always fun to hear new music from members of old favorites, especially when they are moving in exciting new directions.
before identical homes, was a progressive rock group from san diego, named ilya. they had a very powerful stage & audio presence, with a sound that blended many different styles, or at least hinted at many different styles, from post-rock, to electronica, to goth & black metal. the vocals also had a hint of norwegian or icelandic accents, kinda like bjork. they were a six piece, a female front/vocalist, a guitarist & a keyboardist & another member who both/either/or, a bassist/acoustic guitarist & a drummer. their stage set up also had several lamps which pulsed through varying colors, which added strongly to the overall moodiness of their music. their set was very rhythmic & groovy, a little funky, totally rockin’ & somewhat psychedelic. the vocals, with several backup singers, created lush soundscapes with great depth, as well as charm & beauty. a strong set, full of movement & great complexity.
the opener this evening was a wonderful singer/songwriter, calling himself sunny jim brown. he was a mighty treat, playing several songs on banjo, including a cover of a smiths song. but the real treat was when he put on his handmade guitar. thats right, i said HANDMADE, truly taking the term diy to a whole ‘nother level. one of the most memorable songs was about werewolves, which was full of time changes & some great creepy lyrics about howls in the night & chill winds blowing through the woods. really a fantastic opening set, & particularly unique to the evening.
well, i know ive been promising it for months now, but i will really try to get all the many record reviews i have due out in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned (ill try to get at least one each monday & tuesday, being those are my days off).