Concert Review: Lower and Merchandise at Wrongbar

By Less Lee Moore

Toronto, ON
October 15, 2014

Two of my favorite albums of this year are Merchandises’s After The End and Lower’s Seek Warmer Climes, so my attendance at this concert was guaranteed. Not only did both bands exceed my expectations, I discovered two more bands that are also compelling.

The night opened with Toronto’s Beliefs, a shoegazey band with a male and female singer who reminded me of My Bloody Valentine. No doubt they get that comparison a lot, but it’s an apt one. The vocals and music blended together to create a dreamlike quality, with no single element threatening to overshadow the other.

Next up was Brooklyn’s Eaters, comprised of Bob Jones and Jonathan Schenke. Their setup included a synth, a guitar, and lots of mixers, with both members contributing to vocals. Their aesthetic is thoroughly engaging, a combination of Eno-esque ambience and harsh, science fiction soundtrack-inspired sounds, along with some flat out heavy post-punk. You can stream their recent debut on Soundcloud if you’re interested in hearing more (and you should be).

I confess the Lower fangirl in me was perfectly content to sit by the front of the stage and just watch them set up their instruments, hoping that these four, fresh-faced young men were going to transform the people who’d showed up to see Merchandise into Lower devotees. It sounds impossible, but Lower’s live performance was even more visceral than their debut album. Adrian Tourbro is not content to simply mimic his vocals from the album, instead imbuing them with even more passion. Anton Rothstein is an absolute beast on the drums and is a real joy to watch, while Simon Formann’s guitar and Kristian Emdal’s bass create jagged shards of reverb that add to the feeling of tension and release.

By the time Merchandise took the stage, Wrongbar was quite crowded but everyone was respectful. If you haven’t yet heard these Florida natives, you are definitely missing out. Carson Cox is one of the most unique vocalists around and watching him on stage felt a little bit like seeing The Smiths back in the day. It was great to see drummer Elsner Nino pound away, but it was difficult to take my eyes (and ears) from Dave Vassalotti on guitar. He has a distinctive and mesmerizing guitar style that is quite unlike anything I’ve experienced in recent years. Word is that his solo work is absolutely essential and after this concert, I can understand why that is.

Because there were four bands playing, everyone kept their set relatively short, which was a bit of a bummer as I could have easily stuck around for hours. All in all, an excellent night with some terrific, talented musicians.

Please check out the bands online for tour dates: Beliefs, Eaters, Lower, and Merchandise.