Illinois
w/Magic Magic and Baixa
@ Great Scott (1222 Commonwealth Ave.)
18+, 9pm, $9
Tonight, Great Scott brings Illinois back to Boston from Philadelphia, with support from the muggle-haters in Magic Magic.
Illinois is an honest to god rock band; soaring guitars, four-part harmonies, banjo loops, and bright, shiny-warm pop hooks. This epic bar-rock fivesome from Philly has had a monthly residency at Great Scott for very good reasons. The band rocks. Hard. “Nosebleed” flows along a gnarled banjo line, outlining Chris Archibald’s drunkenly distorted vocals as he tears at the melody. “Irish Whiskey” is a jangly barroom epic, all jagged guitars and smooth, anthemic vocals, and “Screendoor” is a fuzzed-out ode to “all the lovely” ladies in Illinois’s life. Come out, and follow some of their sage advice. “Let’s do some shots, you know I can’t turn em down.”
Magic Magic might be the next big Boston thing. In terms of hype (and European tours), the next Passion Pit? We won’t pretend to know. But the band sounds like a slightly more coherent, more accessible Animal Collective. The refrain in “Sleepy Lion” is buoyant in its popping harmonies and the song streamlines like one collective experience, rather than segmented structures. And speaking of Animal Collective, “Over Your Heart” is basically a tribute, surrounded in buzzing ambience while John Murphy forces his lyrics to fit a lilting, hooky melody. And we’ve heard they have two drummers. Wh-wh-what!?
add to digg
add to stumble upon
add to reddit