3.5 Great Northern @ The Viper Room
It’s been chic of late for new bands to draw on the atmospheric sounds of ‘80s New Wavers from The Smiths and U2 (ah, remember when?) to The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. But too many bands inspired by this time go for style over substance. And while I love a guy in a rumpled dress shirt and pegged pants as much (or maybe even more than) the next girl, and it’s always hot to see some theatricality in the ladies’ style and makeup, you simply can’t sing along to a snappy stage look. There have got to be some songs.
So it’s refreshing to discover the Los Angeles-based quartet Great Northern, which features two former members of Earlimart. They fuse chiming synths and swooning guy-girl vocals into rousing songs that manage to be both stylish and emotive. Plus, they've got enough crunchy guitar and nimble beats to keep things on the rock tip. Their debut album “Trading Twilight for Daylight” (Eenie Meenie) drops on May 15th. It will be fey for some people’s tastes, but you can’t please everyone. Nor should you try. And it abounds with what is, quite simply, some fine sophisticated pop music. How does it translate live? Although the band was plagued with technical difficulties, and the sound never quite smoothed itself out enough to properly showcase their songs, they delivered a dynamic set. It ranged from the epic, sleigh bell-sheathed ballad “Low Is a Height,” which showcased the rich patina of Rachel Stolte’s vocals (who, it must be said, sported a truly rad 80’s throwback shirt dress/vest ensemble), to the harder-rocking swing of “The Middle,” which had a sunny melodiousness that resembled a distant descendent of The Beatles. And while the band was visibly frustrated by the gnarly sound situation, they kept it fun, sharing smiles and displaying the kind of playful, prank-infused camaraderie that can keep a band from imploding during times of stress and the kind of nonstop touring required of up-and-comers.
This show also marked my first trip to the Viper Room. And as a onetime River Phoenix obsessive (let’s not even touch how watching “Stand By Me” over and over again at age 12 likely scarred my psychosexual makeup), I have to say the experience made me sad. It just seemed like such a woefully ironic place for a major talent to get snuffed out. So go watch “The Thing Called Love,” (which features River doing his own singing), and celebrate the good ol’ days when River was still among us, Sandra Bullock and Dermot Mulroney were up-and-comers themselves, and romantic comedies could still get away with being sweet and a little edgy.
