HomeFeatures Scene Showcase: Daredevil Christopher Wright, Laarks, The Coast
Scene Showcase: Daredevil Christopher Wright, Laarks, The Coast
Written by Rob van Alstyne
Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 02:42 PM
The Daredevil Christopher Wright
Formerly perceived by most as a relatively sleepy Wisconsin college town, Eau Claire’s music scene has received more press attention in the last twelve months than it did during approximately the entire previous century. Nearly all of that is of course due to native son Justin Vernon’s home recording project Bon Iver becoming something of an international sensation, as the hits on the server linking to the profile piece I wrote on him last fall readily attest to. There’s more to Eau Claire’s music scene than just Vernon, however, and always has been, a point which will be driven home nicely this Saturday at the Nomad World Pub when two of the town’s finest acts come to Minneapolis, folk pop enthusiasts The Daredevil Christopher Wright and electro-inflected indie-poppers Laarks. They’ll be joined by excellent Toronto pop quartet The Coast.
If the Twin Cities music scene is on the small side, than it’s fair to label Eau Claire’s flat-out tiny, with every band connected through at most two degrees of separation from one another. That being said, it’s not surprising that Vernon’s connected to both acts (editors note: Don't be surprised to see Justin pop up at the Nomad show, he plays the Walker's Rock The Garden concert earlier that day), he mixed Daredevil’s forthcoming debut album and lent Laarks the microphones they’re using to record theirs, but any connection to Bon Iver’s tunes end there and both groups are excellent enough they deserve to be appreciated on their own merit.
DCW’s playful acoustic pop features a singer with dramatic flair, nice folksy instrumental touches (whistles, violins, xylophone a plenty) and enough similarities with buzzed about acts like Page France and the Decemberists it’s easy envisioning them as the next Eau Clair act to go global.
Listen to “The East Coast” by The Daredevil Christopher Wright from their forthcoming debut full-length In Deference to a Broken Back
Not to be outshone, Laarks favor a far different musical approach than DCW but prove equally irresistible. Strongly resembling now defunct Eau Claire forebears Amateur Love , and featuring the same dynamo drummer in Brian Moen, Laarks high drama electro-pop prominently features innumerable tasty keyboard textures, aggressively shifting rhythms and taut guitar work. Those still hoping against hope that Ben Gibbard gets around to making another Postal Service album sometime this decade might be better served by checking out Laarks, who may lack PS’ beats per minute but provide nearly as compelling a fusion of organic and electronic rock textures.
Listen to “The ‘S’ Stood for Science” from Laarks forthcoming debut album
As if this double-shot of Upper Midwestern melodic excellence weren’t enough to quench your musical thirst I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention an excellent Canadian band also on the bill. The Coast call Toronto home but sound more like they hail from London circa 1993, combining American collegiate jangle-pop with the beauteous distortion of the U.K.’s shoegazing past. They recently released a flat out stunning debut, Expatriate, rightfully already turning plenty of heads in Canada but still floating under the radar stateside. I’ve got a feeling that won’t be the case for long judging by the allure of tunes like “Killing Off Your Friends” and “Tightrope,” streaming here for your listening pleasure.
COMING UP: The Daredevil Christopher Wright, Laarks, The Coast and Band of Annuals perform on Saturday, June 21, at the Nomad World Pub . 9 p.m. $5. 21+.
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 03:59 PM
