New music from Milo Greene is always exciting, and the group has been actively building up to their next great release after 2015’s Control. The quartet released their latest EP Never Ender through Nettwerk Music Group in February, and it holds much the same energy of past releases: a dark and somber mood mixed with vibrant, ethereal elements. It’s has a certain rawness and honesty to the emotions it unleashes – fear, anger, frustration, confusion, forced acceptance – and reflects the tension felt across the nation (and world) over the past few months.
Beginning with “I Know about You,” the EP starts off with a mysterious air that’s hauntingly aware as the vocals spin a tale of betrayal that should have been expected. A background of tinkling keys and foreboding chants anchor the eerie broken-hearted story’s many threads -anger for not seeing the heartbreak coming, frustration with former partner and their lack of guilt, and the self-righteous clarity that typically acts as a precursor to closure. Perhaps in this case it isn’t just an ex-lover whose betrayal the band laments, but rather the state of the world and the fact that our neighbors and family members brought us here.
The EP flows seamlessly into “We Kept the Lights on,” which takes a stab at the concept of a finished relationship from the opposite perspective. It’s an homage to finding strength and individual power despite not being able to leave no matter how badly you may want to. It’s cyclical, both in the soft “ooh’s” peppered throughout the song and its overall message of someone leaving and coming back to the same person repeatedly.
The single “Afraid of Everything” is the thesis of the EP: it’s a nod toward fear in a serious relationship as well as the fear that permeates much of our daily existence in the current turbulent state of affairs. It recognizes that the passing of time is our saving grace, as it’s the only sure-fire cure for recovering from a broken heart. As many people use courage in the face of adversity to get through the next few years, the song also serves as reminder that there’s always something to focus on that doesn’t rattle you to the core, even if everything seems scary.
Never Ender encompasses the cycle of moods we all find ourselves juggling: anger and fear one day and self-confidence and strength the next. As such, Milo Greene provide a battle cry for those struggling to find stability.
The only thing that can really mend the wound of a lost Dodgers game in L.A. is a damn good concert. That might explain why there was a line around the block for hours leading up to Bombay Bicycle Club’s set at the Wiltern on Friday, even with the first round of playoffs going, and in triple digit heat, this was an act of commitment. Once inside, the pit filled up quickly, the crowd predominantly made up of 20-somethings with unusual haircuts. It was a very specific demographic, but a very enthusiastic one. So when first opening band Luxley took the stage, I could tell it was going to be a very involved audience.
Luxley is a New Orleans “wildfire dance rock” band. It’s the recording project of Ryan Gray, who dances all over the stage the entire duration of the set, getting into it, as the old adage goes, as if no one is watching. The music is definitely dance-y, but it’s a little hard to peg. It certainly has a pop rock vibe to it, due in part mostly to Gray’s vocal style, but it has a variety of elements, from electronic tempo and drops to some really primal drum sections. The crowd was fairly interested; it’s pretty hard not to be when you can see the band enjoying themselves as much as they were. They were a good way to get the energy going but were a bit of an odd fit for a Bombay Bicycle Club show. BBC is known to showcase their versatility in sound, and there wasn’t enough variety between Luxley’s songs to hold our attention; not to say it was bad, or that it wasn’t enjoyable, it just felt like we got several very similar songs all at once.
Milo Greene was the main opener, and what a pleasant surprise this quintet was. The Los Angeles “cinematic” pop band have such a soothing yet progressive sound, and so lithely executed that I consider them my newest love. What makes them unique is each member is a lead vocalist and also multi instrumentalist. For each song, the members trade off instruments, gliding seamlessly from guitar to bass to keyboards. The harmonies were rich from the range of vocal styles of each member. Marlana Sheetz, sporting a very Jenny Lewis-esque white pant suit, brings the whispy female range to the table, but male members Robbie Arnett, Graham Fink, and Andrew Heringer create that depth of vocal harmony that hearkens back to Fleetwood Mac. Musically, they couldn’t be more different, but they are certainly not lacking in that department. Drummer Curtis Marrero effortlessly binds it all together to create their tight-knit sound. They played a few songs from their full-length self-titled debut, such as “1957,” a beautifully crafted song that typifies their sound (and a song that I’ve been listening to on repeat since then). But they also have a new album due out in January, called Control, and took the opportunity to show off the upcoming material, full of technical guitar bits and big impact, more upbeat in tempo from Milo Greene.
Bombay Bicycle Club is a band that couldn’t possibly disappoint. Over the span of four albums, they have not lost the momentum that makes them who they are. Opening with “Overdone,” from their latest album, So Long, See You Tomorrow, released earlier this year, was an expertly planned ploy. That sludgy riff in the bridge will get anyone going, guaranteed. And the amazing part about BBC is that they are mercurial, shifting from some musically dense material right into their more atmospheric sound, in songs like “It’s Alright Now” and “Shuffle.” Their visuals featured a series of circles recalling the album art from their latest release. Onto the circles various images were projected for each song. It was executed so well; for songs like “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep” (my personal favorite BBC song) the circles became an evening sky, and the lyrics appeared in what appeared to be scribbled constellations, glowing and burning out as quickly as a shooting star. “Feel” had the most perfect visuals, with cobra serpents to reflect the sound of this very Arabian-esque song. This was probably my favorite performance of the night. That snake charming guitar lick that rings throughout the song was just magical in a live setting, and they really milked it for what it was worth. The tone on that particular riff is guitar perfection, so when the normal fade out ended with several more bars of that lick, I just about melted. “So Long, See You Tomorrow” was a great, pre-encore ender, because it literally left the crowd begging for more. It’s that song that burns inside of you, starting as a familiar warm ember within, and crawling down into every appendage until you are full of warmth and bliss. It crescendos just barely enough, so there was no way they could end on that note.
The encore was, in all respective senses of an encore, the last hoorah. They threw it back to “What if” from their 2009 debut I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose. The night ended on “Carry Me” which was a whirlwind of percussion and strobes, sing alongs, and some pervasively chilling tremolo guitar. This show at the Wiltern was one of the first stops on what will be a very extensive tour throughout most of the U.S. in October. It’s been hailed as the must-see tour of the season, so it is strongly advised that you catch them before they depart on their European tour in November.
