As the temperamental music scene continues to waver between tradition and the avant garde, with the new kids on the block straining the boundaries of convention while their predecessors desperately attempt to stay relevant, it’s refreshing to listen to an album that embraces the poignancy of music-making.
Megan Hickey, of Brooklyn-based The Last Town Chorus, intuits an organic approach to her craft, proving that simplicity is often more complex than a twelve-member electro-orchestra of distorted noise. On Wire Waltz, Hickey and co. deftly construct an atmospheric backdrop that invokes a kind of agrarian mystery—at once peaceful and shattering. Hickey’s voice swells with the calculated pace of someone who’s actually lived life (as opposed to those who think about life). This is as much music for the world-weary layman as it is for the New York hipsters that will certainly be attracted.
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On Thursday The Last Town Chorus played an intimate show at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, opening for labelmate Mark Olson. Hickey demonstrated her dexterity with the lap-steel guitar, filling the modest venue with waves of tingle-inducing sound. Watching TLTC perform, I was reminded of a thought I had during my first Low concert: “this is music that begs to be heard live.” And TLTC makes that kind of music—music that provokes, God forgive me, eyes-closed swaying (not to be confused with the eyes-closed, arms-linked swaying of Burt Bacharach’s graduation pleaser “That’s What Friends are For”). A highlight from the show was a live performance of David Bowie’s cover “Modern Love” (Hickey reinterprets the dance-happy groove of the original as a gothic ballad). This cover was featured in a promo for the docudrama “Diana: the Last Days of a Princess,” and Hickey introduced the song with a “shout-out” to Diana, praising her contributions as a humanitarian while jokingly referencing the late princess’s distinctive hairstyle.
The Last Town Chorus is currently on tour with Mark Olson. For a complete tour schedule, visit www.thelasttownchorus.com.
-Lara
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