7/19 – Foreign Born/The Veils @ Mohawk

Sunday night wrapped up a rather moderate week of live music in Austin, but let’s not forget that we’ve had a pretty awesome summer of live music. Fortunately for us at ATH, we were able to catch Foreign Born, The Veils and Other Girls at The Mohawk on Sunday night, just after we did our best to pretend to be entertained by the Anarchy Wrestling Tour outside of the Mohawk. You can’t argue with $1 Pabst or good tunes. Follow the jump for our take on the show and a few snapshots.

Cleveland, Ohio’s Other Girls took to the stage just after the clock struck ten and the wrestlers filed out of the building clad in their lycra pants. We knew very little of the band, other than what we were able to catch on the band’s web site, but we were pleasantly surprised by what they had to offer. On this evening they presented themselves as a jangle-core foursome, packed with swaggering bass player and strong vocals from Jonah, the lead singer.  Vaguely reminiscent of Band of Horses, they just came out with a little bit more energy.  Most of the tracks they played came from their recent debut Perfect Cities, such as the superb “Hey Fella You Fell.”  It was a surprisingly sublime set by a band we look forward to seeing more of in the future.

London via the South Pacific group The Veils took the middle slot on Sunday night, supporting the release of their most recent album Sun Gangs. While the album tends to have a little bit of a folk leaning, at least in regards to the instrumentation, the live set presented itself as a much more rocking production.  Finn’s voice absolutely soared over the audience, which might explain while the inside room at The Mohawk was filled to the brim on the sweltering evening.   His sway over the audience on songs such as “The Letter” demonstrated precisely why the band has garnered so much inspiring press over the last few years.  Perhaps the most beautiful moments came when his voice seemed to struggle with a guttural growl, making him seem almost human, despite his extraordinary vocal presence.  When they played “Sit Down by the Fire” one might have noticed similarities with early Arcade Fire, but as the song progressed, influences and nuances went out the window, as the band exploded into their own world; sadly, Sophia didn’t seem too inspired, at least with regards to her audience interaction, although her mesmerizing eyes might make us overlook that in the long run.

Finally, Foreign Born landed for the final slot of the evening.  By this point, we had two warm sets from bands we already enjoyed, and this surely would be a third set from another band that has slowly won us over.  One song into the set, they took us into another world, as they played “Early Warning,” which is one of the standout tracks from their album Person to Person. Graciously, we shook about in standing position, as the guitarmonies echoed in the small inside room.  The band’s use of multiple percussion gives their album, and especially their live set, a lot of depth.  You have to give it to the band for using a multi-percussionist, creating extremely dense layers to a sound that could otherwise border on the mundane.  Impressed upon us was the professionalism of the set, which is rare for a band that hasn’t been around for too long.  With all the right blend of melody, folk and percussion, it was clear that Foreign Born have the recipe for continued success.

And such was our night, enjoyed by all.