Go read Dave’s review, which is both smarter and more measured that I ever could have managed — I’m just so goddamn in the tank for this band.
In particular, Dave’s point about the new material is well-taken. After the precision pop machinery of Bring It Back, the new album left me disappointed. But live — faced with singing, emoting human beings — the relatively nuanced piano compositions of Re-arrange Us are ultimately more gratifying, if less immediately, dizzyingly dopamine-pumping1. Dave’s absolutely right when he says that this is a band that’s still getting better.
Which isn’t to say that they aren’t already really good. This was the first time I’ve managed to see MoS, and I was surprised by how closely the live arrangements matched those on their records — I’d just sort of assumed that the magic of overdubs played a big role in the albums’ appeal. Not so. Their high-register stuff doesn’t hit as reliably as it does on the records, but then you wouldn’t expect it to. In general their records seem to be a fair representation of the noises they make live.
One thing Dave said that I will quibble with: I really liked their version of “Something”. Sure, it sounded out of place in the set. But in a good way — it sounded casual. I may be wrong — maybe they’ve toiled over that cover — but the impression conveyed was that you could take pretty much any classic song, feed it into the MoS machine and have it come out harmonized and singable and keyboarded-up. It makes you think that everything they touch turns to pop (not to say the Beatles aren’t pop, but you know what I mean). It allowed me separate their sound from their songwriting, which made their musicianship seem all the more impressive.
But like I said, you shouldn’t listen to me: I’m just a hopeless fanboy.
1To be fair, the poppier numbers weren’t helped by the fact that the sound at the Cat, while perfectly good and perfectly audible, was turned down to a relatively humane level — comfortable, sure, but there really should’ve been no escape from that keyboard tone.
Isn’t it so sweet and ever-so-slightly sickening how well they make eye contact with each other on stage? It’s like they’re still in love with each other even though they’re married–weird.
Well, they weren’t making goo-goo-eyes at each other last night — or not all that much, anyway. But they did get their guitarist a piece of birthday cake and had the crowd sing to him! Say it with me now: awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww