Ready, Steady, Able

Instead of spending Sunday night at home bemoaning the end of the weekend, I was lucky enough to be at the Camden Roundhouse, playing host to Beach House and Grizzly Bear. For me, this was as good as a double-header, Grizzly Bear having made my favourite album of last year, Beach House the best so far this year, and it would be an understatement to say that the two did not disappoint live.

On record, Beach House make dreamy, hazy, wistful pop, and, by looking at their Last.fm tags, it seems most people agree with this, with gentle synths, pianos and a muted drum machine accompany Victoria Legrand's husky vocals creating a gorgeous lo-fi amalgam. Yet in concert this could not be further from the case. I was little prepared for the booming drums (played live), and instead of gliding along smoothly with the keyboard she played, Legrand's vocals pierced high above it. The fuller, heavier sound was darker and, i hate to use this word, more epic; more nightmare than dream pop. And it was amazing. The quieter, more intimate sound of the albums could so easily have been lost in the cavernous Roundhouse, but instead their sound soared as they played a set of mostly Teen Dream material. There were too many highlights to recall, but closer Take Care was perfectly fitting, Legrand sounding particularly impassioned.

Grizzly Bear take a Walk in the Park

Despite the brilliance of Beach House before them, Grizzly Bear were never really going to disappoint. Like Beach House, they also played songs mostly from their latest album, with some notable exceptions, in particular Knife. The melodies, the rhythms, the false buildups and the eventual moments of cacophonous bliss of their recorded output were all masterfully executed, and beautifully matched by the sparkly-bulbs-in-jars set. Watching bassist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Taylor cycle through his vast array of instruments was always entertaining, and his dedication of one song to the band's mothers (it was mother's days) was sweet, as recognised by the crowds collective 'aaawwww', but overall Grizzly Bear added little to what they have already laid down on record. The only real digression was the inclusion of Legrand on vocals for Two Weeks, which had to be the best song of the set for me, and many in the audience by the sound of it.

Although Grizzly Bear's set may have been flawless, and their songs inherently brilliant, it was the Beach House set that impressed most. It confounded my expectations and really elevated their music to the occassion, although it could perhaps be argued that this was something the Bears didn't have to do to begin with, and it would be interesting to see Beach House in a more intimate setting.