An older crowd, many of them my age, came to the Atlantis in D.C. on November 11 for Jenn Wasner's homecoming. She's from Baltimore and I'm highly partial to Wasner's last band, Wye Oak. I consider them to be the John Coltrane or Miles Davis of indie rock. So I was curious to hear Flock of Dimes live.
Particularly to hear if Wasner's voice is as good live as on record. The answer is yes, or even better. She has a soprano that takes the listener to another universe.
The band is tight, better than on their three albums. Some of the tunes on their latest release, The Life You Save, lean heavily toward a folk vibe, a deparature from the first two releases. But in concert, it's exploratational indie music.
Wasner is an introspective character, and the songs have the swagger of experience. Listen to I Think I'm God, Long After Midnight and Not Yet Free. The FoD cannon straddles folk, pop and rock; the songs are so gripping that they make me want to put my pending compositions aside.
Wasner does not delegate lead guitar work; she generally handles it herself. Some songs have eight measures of a rock bridge, but that's all. No long solos, no extended rock riffs.
Natalie Jane Hill is like the reference librarian who quit her job after reading all the books. She plays folk music accompanied by obtuse poetry, a style I thought hasd not been performed in 50 years. Shows you what I know.
I couldn't stop paying attention. Check out If I Were a Willow, Plants and Flowers Do Not Grow Here and Orb Weaver.
I did not hear a hook or a chorus all night from either woman. The playing and singing, the fretwork, finger-picking and the vocals, those are the hooks. No fluff, no sugar, no I Love Yous and Why Don't You Love Me Back. Instead, people got the complexities of adulthood, stuff not easily resolved.
When I heard Wye Oak back in March 2011 at the Black Cat in DC, they played at head-splitting rock volume. It worked on me, since Thrift Bakery resumed recording shortly thereafter. But I appreciated the volume reduction at this recent show.