AU with support from Frederick Stanley Star
The Cube, Bristol, Friday April 24th
Luke Wyland and Dana Valatka, the duo that makes up the touring incarnation of AU have not slept. They have driven through the night from Cork to make it to Bristol’s Cube Cinema in time for this evening’s performance. Wyland concedes that they may well be a little delirious. Their set opens with an impassioned, partly improvised free-composition. It serves as a musical limbering up to purge any tiredness, but as Wyland’s voice soars above his piano and Valatka beats out an intricate rhythm it is like an espresso shot for the senses.
Given that Wyland’s last album, Verbs¸ featured over thirty musicians harvested from the fertile musical soils of Portland, Oregon, a two-piece comes as a surprise. The twenty-strong vocal chorus, the plethora of instruments, and the unbridled energy of so many collaborators that manifested in Verbs expansive experimental pop sound was a lot to put on the shoulders of two exhausted men. However, Wyland with his keyboard, sampler-based lap steel, a whole host of pedals and two vocal microphones manages to capture the energy and scope of Verbs through a series of loops and virtuoso musicianship. Vlatka is vital to tonight’s success as he expertly recreates the complex rhythms whilst reacting to Wyland’s every move. His drumming is both emotive and textured, at times restrained and at others blisteringly dominant.
Piano-driven tracks like All Myself and Boute were always going to work in the live set- up. These tracks build from hazy psychedelic ballads before spilling over into an epiphany of Riley-esque classical swells and warm waves of electronic sound. Wyland’s keyboards move from Francesco Tristano’s classical appropriations of techno to the proggy synth lines and circus riffage of the exuberant Are Animals. His voice conveys emotion throughout, contextualising the ensuing soundscapes for the audience. Many experimental bands struggle to find an emotional connection to tether their music, which results in their compositions, however impressive, floating disengaged from human experience. There is a compelling emotional aspect to AU which is unique and admirable.
Wyland’s passion for music and collaboration both on record and live is palpable. It emerges tonight when to conclude their set, he calls for Cardiff-based support act Frederick Stanley Star to join him on stage to bash the shit out of everything including their trademark crash helmet. The percussion builds in a dizzying stomp which Wyland matches with a fevered wall of effects and piano before the music disappears altogether, replaced with ecstatic yelps and screams from all on stage. It is harnessing the joy in music’s conception that is AU’s humble triumph.
Published originally at Suit Yourself Magazine
For more new music, check out MVSCLES – Somethin’.