Review: Halfnoise Release Show in Nashville

 

☆ BY GOMI ZHOU ☆

Digital Photos By Gomi Zhou

 
 

FROM THEIR NEO-RETRO SOUND TO THEIR SUPERGRAPHIC VISUAL AESTHETIC — Halfnoise reflects all the recurring motifs of Nashville. 

Last Sunday night, at the legendary Basement East, Halfnoise’s album release show in East Nashville gathered a roomful of music fans from all over the country. Energy brewed gradually through the two mellow but captivating opening sets by Elke and Louis Prince. Elke’s set featured the full touring ensemble of the band, with Halfnoise (and Paramore)’s Zac Farro on the drums. Folky and sultry at the same time, Elke’s soulful noise set the undertone for the night. Louis Prince, on the other hand, had a natural coolness with his stoic but approachable stage presence.

“You didn’t come here for me,” Louis Prince said, a slight smile on his face, as fans cheered him on towards the end of the set.

The sounds of windchimes and saxophone set a jazzy scene among the dreamy lighting, before Farro strolled on and greeted the crowd. Then, on the Basement East’s not-so-sizeable wooden crate stage, stood an ensemble featuring six musicians and quite a few more instruments. 

“Can you turn the lights very, very, very low — low as they go,” Farro said as the yellow beams diffused into a warmer and dimmer shade. “How's everybody doing tonight?”

Instead of keys and chello, the live version of the instrumental track, “Introduction,” was overpowered by silky saxophone. Along with dimmed lights, windchimes, crates, and Farro’s retro outfit topped with a classy beret, the rock-centric Basement East time-traveled and transformed into a 1930s speakeasy. 

The setlist (with tempo for each song labeled next to the names) contained both tracks from older projects and the band’s newly released EP Motif. It wasn’t hard to distinguish older songs from the new ones, as songs from Motif tend to be a lot more mellow and nonchalant, almost as if they reflect the moods and constants of the last two quarantine/pandemic years.

In comparison, tracks like “She Said,” “All That Love Is,” and “French Class” evoked non-stop dancing from the crowd. Nonetheless, thanks to Zac Farro’s charisma as the front man and the emotional executions from the band, the live performances of most of the songs felt a lot more vibrant and transcendent than the recorded versions. “Not The Man,” from the new EP, featured a singalong component, and the popular lead single “Two of Us” turned into a family dance party on and off stage, with Farro and Elke’s loving duet occasionally stealing everyone’s attention.

Motif signifies a stylistic detour from Halfnoise’s previous sound, and the album release show certainly contoured that detour perfectly. 

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