New Haven’s fantastic six-piece pop act M.T. Bearington is landing in Cro’s Nest this Friday. Following the one-man recording process that produced album number one, The Cloak of Nouns and Loss (on local label Safety Meeting Records), singer/guitarist Matt Thomas gathered five musicians to form the Bearington Band, whose live renditions of the songs highlight and enhance the dynamics and lush sonic palette of the much quieter record. A performance at this year’s I AM Festival drew a rapt crowd even in the rain and prompted The Day to call MTB’s “excellent psyche-pop” a “highlight” of the festival, and earned comparisons to Olivia Tremor Control – although I think they sound more like Grizzly Bear soundtracking a Sid & Marty Krofft kids’ television show. Still not convinced? You’ll have all week to reconsider while you try to get their totally infectious single “Fate Finder” out of your head.
Straight out the dungeons of Hopkinton, MA, where fake Camels don’t make it back, comes Take Care, a tight and talented rock band fronted by none other than your fellow Conn sophomore Kyle Joseph. A year-old institution with significant live experience and a studio album under their gigantic, four-person belt, Take Care possesses a professionalism and solidity of craft without ever loosing sense of the immediacy; they have had the pleasure of working with acclaimed sound engineer Eric Pfeifer of John Mayer and Neil Young projects in his recent diversion into indie recording on their album Awakenasleep. Their original compositions combine the ingenuity and invention of modern music groundbreakers like Radiohead with the pop sensibilities of 90’s alt and post-grunge acts to create a unique brand of moody indie rock that feels intuitive, with the allure of effective vocals and progressions as layers effortlessly build upon themselves. If you’ve seen Kyle Joseph play before, you don’t need me to tell you his fingers shame Van Halen and his pipes make Dusty Springfield want to quit smoking. If you haven’t, then there’s no better way to get acquainted with these songs than live, loud, and in person. There’s a lot going on this Friday, but make sure you check these guys out.
Did we mention there will be pizza?
Take Care’s entire debut album, Awakenasleep, is available for free download at their website or on iTunes.
In Andy Mac, tonight’s FNL performer, you find a sweet romantic diplomat. There is a certain generosity in the vocals – a gentleness that is unassuming and relaxed. His acoustic melodies have a sense of the quotidian, of the familiar and a hint of nostalgia. Nothing ambient or incidental invades his music – he is purposeful and professional, but produces surprisingly buoyant strains of pleasant acoustic pop.
Next up for this semester’s FNL series is The Brazz Tree, a NYC acoustic duo comprised of violinist Mazz Swift and guitarist Brad Hammonds, playing Friday 9/26 in Cro’s Nest at 10:30 PM. The two pull together bits of Celtic, Middle Eastern, jazz, American folk, and rock into a whirlwind blend of exciting acoustic acrobatics which they call New World Acoustic Rock.
Swift, the violin player, is a Julliard-educated musician who has recorded with artists like Kanye West and Jay-Z, while Hammonds is trained in psychology… but still an energetic and inventive musician. After the early success of their well-received 2003 tour and album, called Quest, the duo decided to expand their sound, incorporating drum loops, electric instrumentation, and samples, making their already dynamic range of styles and techniques even more diverse in time for their 2006 effort, Spiral On. From the smoky mysticism of the lyrics to the engrossing fiddle riffs and absorbing songcraft, every element of the Brazz Tree is geared to grab your attention and keep you hooked until the very last note.
To kick off a year’s worth of Friday Night Live performances is Jared Campbell, an independent singer-songwriter from Binghampton, New York, performing acoustic in Cro’s Nest this upcoming Friday at 10 pm. Campbell, who has shared a stage with similar contemporaries Gavin DeGraw, Jason Mraz, and Matt Nathanson, has developed a loyal fan base among college students in the Northeast in the recent years.
Campbell exhibits a clear passion for music in his library of songs, employing clean vocals and generous melodies. His sound exudes a sense of careful consideration for the transitive quality of music, and in this sense his projects are not wholly aesthetic. “[My goal] is to have my music impact the lives of his listeners, whether it be a feel good song like “Only Getting Better” or a deeply-rooted song about overcoming life’s obstacles such as “Catch A Glimpse of Blue,” he explains. Campbell’s lyrics are disciplined and earnest, focused on his lucid expression of faith. The rise and fall of the tempos feel intuitive and charming– at times whittled down to whispers and at other moments aided by full-bodied modulations of an accompanying band. He strives for and achieves a concerted poignancy amid his grounded, but never tentative, melodies.
