December 2nd at Union Hall in Brooklyn, Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains performed the first of two shows in New York. Grainger backed by his band put on at times noisy, at times funny performance.
Coming on stage, the band started the night with “Love Can Be So Mean” the opener for their self-titled debut album. It’s not perfect sonically, nor is it intended to be. Grainger rocks out and puts on an inspired show. Each song is pulsating and heavy hitting. It’s a fuller sound that highlights Grainger’s vocals and his guitar work. At ease on stage, Grainger’s performance ranges from funny asides while tuning his guitar, to wailing and belting out his patented screams and yelps, to extended jam sessions.
“I Hate My Friends,” with its bouncy guitar work morphs into a reverb-heavy jam that puts the focus on the band. The band is at ease indulging in experimentation.
“American Names,” a standout on the album, was great live with soaring hooks and heavy guitar. It is engaging and heavy with its two-guitar attack, while Grainger is singing as hard as he can throughout the song. A song like this needed a backing band and provides a sound that could not be achieved in Grainger’s previous band, Death From Above 1979.
See also: TheMusic.FM interview with Sebastien Grainger.
Grainger seems to revel in his duty as lead guitarist instead of being behind the kit. One example of this was “Niagara” a noisy song, with a crashing sound that was unflinching in its sonic assault. Each member played as hard and fast as they could throughout. This sort of pace and urgency once again proved that Grainger could still push the tempo in his new band.
“Renegade Silence” provided the dance part of the show. Backed with a drum and bass back beat, it was a nice slice of body-moving music, while the band on stage was having fun. It was inviting and welcoming, a nice contrast to “Niagara”.
“Meet New Friends” closed the show. The song is a slow burn but is brimming with energy. As the song comes to a close, Grainger leaves the stage as the band creates a wall of sound to end the night at Union Hall.
Although one is naturally inclined to judge Grainger’s work with that from his previous band, or even the success of MSTRKRFT, it is unfair to. Grainger does not go out to create version 2.0 of DFA1979. Rather, what is on stage and on the album is simply Grainger doing what he wants to do. Grainger is able to put on a show that satisfies fans of DFA1979 but establishes his own musical identity.
