Winter will soon be upon us, which means more layered clothing and less outdoor activities. If you’re like me, the thought of transitioning from the warm and energizing days of summer to the frostbitten and melancholy days of winter is as shocking as stepping from a sauna into a popsicle. Fortunately, for our emotional well-being, little reminders of summer pop up periodically during these frigid months and warm things up a bit. Land of Talk did just that.
The opening band, a Los Angeles power-pop quartet called Eulogies, merely broke the silence with a handful of proficient but formulaic garage-pop songs that sounded suspiciously like an ode to Weezer. Power-chords and repetitive choruses abounded until Liz from Land of Talk reluctantly agreed to join them onstage for a duet. Unfortunately her talent was muffled by the band’s shrill musical bleakness.
After a suspenseful twenty minutes between sets, Land of Talk crept on stage and started the show with much needed urgency during “Give Me Back My Heart Attack.” Liz, adorned in a little green skirt, red plaid button-up shirt and gray suede boots crooned her songs of conflict and frustration with self-assurance and a refreshingly sunny temperament.
The band was pleased to hear so many requests from the relatively small audience and even dedicated “Some Are Lakes” to a couple celebrating their anniversary. “It’s OK” slowed things down and must have really captivated the audience, because after the applause, the room went completely silent.
Despite their warm impressions, Land of Talk hail from Montréal - a village whose winters beat the snot out of Portland’s. They are quintessentially Canadian indie-rock: a bunch of effortless beauties with the smarts and spirit to amuse, and the aggression and creative talent to be taken seriously. With the likes of Feist, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, The Dears, Metric, Sloan, The Weakerthans, The New Pornographers, Stars, Wolf Parade, The Sadies, and Peaches, Canada seems to own an unfair percentage of the scene. But don’t blame Canada, thank it.
DOWNLOAD: Land of Talk - Sea Foam (MP3) or Follow us for more Land of Talk MP3s (Twitter)
Two songs go in, one comes out. Pick a side.
thanks so much nadine! probably the best compliment a photog can get!
and thanks for reminding me to embed the video in the post too!
by Steve Benoit on Sun May 20, 2012 at 09.33 am from the entry: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)
I can’t get over how these photos captured my up close memory of the night.
by nadine on Sat May 19, 2012 at 11.08 pm from the entry: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)
Or should it be whoever? F my grammar.
by nadine on Sat May 19, 2012 at 10.30 pm from the entry: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)
Whomever took these photos certainly captured the night!
by nadine on Sat May 19, 2012 at 10.26 pm from the entry: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)
“Mindkilla” is awesome. I’ve got this music video last week and really impressed through watching every performance particularly “Glass Jar”. Thanks dude. :)
dance contest
by Mark Waugh on Thu May 17, 2012 at 05.54 am from the entry: Gang Gang Dance's Illuminating "Mindkilla"
Also, I have yet to pay this venue a visit, is it good spot? good people, good vibe, good atmosphere?
... man, i hope i win some tickets…
by Jaz Bonnin-Aldatz on Thu May 17, 2012 at 12.27 am from the entry: It's all good, see Fishbone for free at Fête
Looking forward to the show. Would love to win some tix for my pals.
by MC Breath on Wed May 16, 2012 at 07.40 pm from the entry: It's all good, see Fishbone for free at Fête
I hope you feel better soon, too. Nothing worse than the fatigues. A good sauna would help you out.