Frankie Rose, Dive, White Laces, Nelly Kate
Sunday, April 8 at Strange Matter
Frankie Rose’s recent visit to Richmond was eagerly anticipated. Her recently released second album, Interstellar, is full of lush harmonies and infectious pop confections, and it would be a tremendous feat for her to recreate these compositions in a live environment.
Frankie Rose, Dive, White Laces, Nelly Kate
Sunday, April 8 at Strange Matter
Frankie Rose’s recent visit to Richmond was eagerly anticipated. Her recently released second album, Interstellar, is full of lush harmonies and infectious pop confections, and it would be a tremendous feat for her to recreate these compositions in a live environment. Along for the ride were Captured Tracks recording artists Dive, an unassuming band that successfully won over the small yet dedicated audience on this Easter Sunday. Local avant-garde artists White Laces and Nelly Kate were the perfect choices to round out this showcase of varied approaches to dreamy pop.
Nelly Kate has been celebrating a strong year thus far, and this appearance wasn’t any different. After the release of Ish Ish and a string of events to showcase the record, Kate’s performance helped to highlight the means through which she manipulates every sonic canvas she embraces. Loop technology is the key component to her construction of songs like “Minds + Corners” and “Silver Silk.” It helps to create an allure to her performances, setting her apart from the rest of the scene. It’s even more particularly remarkable when you consider that no one else in Richmond is really doing what Kate achieves in every performance.
After a long weekend spent in Harrisonburg, the stamina of White Laces was impressive to say the least. In their thirty-minute set, the group focused on material that is set to appear on their upcoming full-length. The songs are really beginning to click, and this was noticeable throughout the night. By escaping any preconceived notions that previously haunted them, White Laces are able to sift through these new ideas with a very firm grasp on where they are headed. One of the really exciting things about seeing this process play out live is the evolution of each new tune. A similar phenomenon is happening with The Diamond Center and Canary Oh Canary as well. 2012 is proving to be quite an exciting year for local music.
Brooklyn’s Dive was grand in their approach, and easily won the acclaim of the entire audience. The element of their music that really struck me was their confidence in letting instrumental parts build and build throughout their set. It felt reminiscent of a few other popular Brooklyn bands, but it still offered a vibe to their sound that was appealing and unique. The set focused on their recent seven-inch releases as well as material that will appear on a proper full-length to be released in June. An interesting cover choice on Dive’s part was the suitcase jangle of Nirvana’s “Bambi Slaughter.” Considering how much they evoked a more reverb-laden Nirvana hybrid, it came as no surprise that they would pick apart a distinct Kurt Cobain home demo and utilize it as a way of celebrating his influence on the group. The excitement building around Dive doesn’t seem like it’ll dissipate anytime soon, and their full-length, Oshin, should definitely get a great deal of attention upon its release.
The pleasant surprise of seeing a band as awesome as Dive was a hard feeling to shake. As a result, Frankie Rose‘s set was a bit tougher to connect with. Frankie Rose and Dive are two very different artists, and despite both groups performing flawlessly, it was tough to not be stuck on thoughts of Dive’s recent excellence. Nonetheless, there is an elegance and grace to the way Frankie Rose compositions can carry throughout a venue like Strange Matter. The dead-on harmonies catered strongly to a glam rock/outer space hybrid that felt natural for these critical darlings. There was a bit of a gentle yet awkward approach to the way Rose interacted with the audience, which came across as endearing and personable. Focusing on the two solo full-lengths she has released helped to demonstrate the differences between her earlier incarnation under the name Frankie Rose and The Outs, and her current musical output as simply Frankie Rose. If there was any downside to the set, it was Rose’s slowly fading voice. It never caused too much difficulty in her abilities to pull off the exquisite harmonies, but it resulted in a slightly shorter set than Rose and her band had anticipated. It was understandable that they took an early bow, considering that this was only the fourth date of a thirty-plus day tour. They couldn’t just let Rose destroy her voice this early on the road.
The show was a grand success, and it was unfortunate that the turnout was thinner than what I felt it deserved. However, those that mustered up the energy to make it out on an Easter Sunday were rewarded greatly for their presence.
