Misha is happy to be here. They truly are. When John says ‘thank you’ it sounds like he means it and isn’t just trying to get laid or be ironic or whatever (even if he is trying to get laid/be ironic/whatever, which, let’s be honest, is essentially the bread and butter of modern music). Wednesday night at The Annex Misha played their first show ever! For real! With lights! And people! And people with lights! There was also a tambourine, Asians, and many pauses for smiling. Lots of smiling. Misha may very well be the smiliest indie pop band in the history of indie pop bands, or at least since Tim DeLaughter invented collective happiness.
Electronic music makes me uncomfortable (I don’t get it). Most of what I've heard sounds ridiculous when taken out of club context, with a headache-inducing uniformity that has the unpleasant effect of making white people pop pills and move their bodies in frightening ways. This probably makes me seem very, very old. But Misha’s low-tech laptop pop, combined with their catchy boy/girl/girl vocals, is electronic music for people with low tolerance for electronic music (me). Teardrop Sweetheart, Misha’s debut album is a charming antidote to the oft detached genre, idyllic and approachable, but with a twinge of sadness that occasionally betrays the otherwise sunny veneer. Standout tracks on Teardrop include “Summersend,” dreamy lo-fi bliss that just may crack the ice around your heart, “Weatherbees,” an infectious, multi-layered digital goulash of blips and
bloops and vocalist John Chao’s honeyed tenor.
Misha is Chao and Ashley Yao plus a rotating assortment of friends and fellow musicians. The current roster (or “live Misha”) includes John, Alisha Westerman (guitar), Ed…Ed (bass), plus Evan Pazner on drums and Mallory McCraney on keyboard. It’s a bit confusing but completely endearing, just as the smiliest band on the Lower East Side should be.
Misha will be performing at Pianos in New York tomorrow (Friday 3/7), and then at SXSW the following week. For more information visit the band on Myspace at Myspace.com/mishatheband.
-Lara
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