by Laura Wasson
Photo credit: Laura Wasson
New York is home to so many buzzy up-and-coming bands, it’s easy to forget that for a group from a far-flung city or country, playing here is a huge milestone. So it was for Brighton’s Tall Ships and Oslo’s Highasakite Wednesday night at Mercury Lounge. Neither band has had much exposure stateside—Highasakite just made their U.S. debut at SXSW—so to hear them reiterate how grateful they were to be here throughout the set felt not only sweet, but truly genuine. Needless to say, both sets reverberated with energy and enthusiasm that was palpable from start to finish.
Tall Ships opened the early show, their complex, repetitive melodies boiling into grand crescendos. They had a restrained sense of rowdiness, one that ensured their strong, quick playing never veered into messy territory. The British lads released their eagerly anticipated debut album, Everything Touching, in 2012, and the set consisted mainly of those songs, with a few older numbers thrown in for good measure. From “Phosphorescence,” a magical ode to late-night skinny dipping, to “Gallop,” a thoughtful rumination on aging from the vantage point of youth, the boys were on point.
The highlight of Tall Ships’ performance was a surprise: the quiet and considered ballad, “Ode to Ancestors,” which offered a nice mid-set break from the general loudness. Science is a fixation for the group, and this piece seamlessly blended the often dry subject with a longing sense of romance. When frontman Ric Phethean sang, “You are a triumph of natural selection/ Every mutation leading to your perfection,” it was hard to imagine anyone in the audience not melting. Few love songs feel that earnest and most are simply cloying, but this performance was nothing short of elegant and proof positive that even young, indie rock can be sophisticated.
Highasakite closed the evening with a long, foot-tapping set filled with songs from their latest EP, In and Out of Weeks. When I spoke with lead singer Ingrid Helene Håvik last week, she admitted that coming to the U.S. was a real treat for the group, especially after Norway’s bone-chilling winter. Although they’ve only been performing for a few years now, the cohesive group bleeds showmanship. From the Christmas lights and feathers used to decorate the small stage, to their charming thrift-shop attire, everything about Highasakite was enchanting and very clearly meant for performance—something you see all too rarely these days.
They opened with “Winners Don’t Come Easy” before drifting into other songs off the EP, including “Son of a Bitch” and the charming “Indian Summer.” Håvik is gifted with a truly exquisite voice carrying hints of Stevie Nicks, and her delicate autoharp strumming and surreal, circuitous lyrics felt all the more beguiling as a result. Multi-instrumentalist Kristoffer Lo held court on one side of the stage, complementing his playing with dancing and delightful fist pumps.
The true beauty of this band was their ability to seamlessly weave a tapestry of disparate musical references. Jazz? There’s a bit in there. Tribal drumming? Plenty. Pixieish harmonies worthy of any mid-'60s folk group? They've got that too. It’s a bold mix that was deftly showcased Wednesday night. Håvik told me that they’ve already started working on their next album; it will be interesting to see how their sound continues to grow and change and how long it takes for them to make a triumphant and deserved return to the states.