Music Blog

words by Alex Lewis, photos by Jake Nussbaum

Akron/Family have always had a knack for drawing attention away from themselves. Whether through well-known collaborations (Angels of Light, Megafaun, Do Make Say Think, and so many more) or  internet-purported mythology (it's been said their latest album, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, was composed in a log cabin built into the side of an active volcano in Japan), the band seems to enjoy allowing outside narratives and personalities to step into the limelight. I think they covet their role as puppeteers, pulling the strings in their Akron/Family dioramma, dancing in the shadows just beyond our line of sight.

It felt this way during the opening sets on Saturday night at the Wonder Ballroom. The eclectic group of openers - Brainstorm, Why I Must Be Careful, AU, Golden Retriever, and Delicate Steve - each seemed to be ornate reflections on specific sonic threads from Akron/Family's broad musical palate. From frenzied, tropicalia-influenced rock (Brainstorm) to meticulously-crafted free improvisation (Why I Must Be Careful) to jammy guitar-driven pop bliss (Delicate Steve), you could feel Akron/Family waving their hands above Wonder Ballroom's wooden box. I could also see them chilling out in the corner of the venue, leaning against their large paper-mache volcano.

None of this takes anything away from their music . If anything, all the mystery makes experiencing the pure and unfiltered Akron/Family even better.

They took the stage just after midnight and launched into a set heavy on tunes from S/T II. The atmosphere at the Akron/Family show was one bursting with vivid musical ideas and loving engagement. There was something for everyone. "Island" was slow and dreamy, a coalescing haze of three-part harmonies and synths. "Silly Bears" and "So It Goes" were Kinks-esque riff-heavy bangers. Their set flowed dynamically from post-rock guitar jangling to drum-circle euphoria. The one constant thread being always their deep-seated commitment to a certain pastoralism - an omnipresent force in their music.

Light is a central theme on S/T II. Never is this more evident than on the shimmering album centerpiece "Another Sky". Partial-frontman Seth Olinksy delivers rustic, delicate vocals over a spastic moving texture that reaches a firework refrain. At the show, heart-shaped balloons flew around the room, the Akron/Family boys climbed the paper-mache volcano, and the crowd gathered around to shout-sing the blissful chorus. Like many of their best songs, "Another Sky" feels like it unfolds organically into its euphoric crest.

This was a symbolic moment. After all the waiting and thinking, Akron/Family tightened their grip on the evening's festivities.  They moved out of the shadows and allowed the light to burst through, illuminating a musical world filled with joy and heart-shaped balloons. 

Tagged: live review