Often when a buzz band plays in a trendy venue in Shoreditch, it’s more about the craft beer than the songcraft.
Not so with Sylvan Esso at the Village Underground. The North Carolina duo of Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, in town to promote their excellent second album What Now, have hits to match the hype.
What’s more, they’re brilliant live. Much of this is thanks to Meath, whose energetic performance and earthy voice gave these sometimes esoteric songs a pleasing physicality. Next to her, Sanborn conjured from his synth a world of glitchy, disruptive sounds. It’s a strange combination, but a thrilling one.
Meath’s said of What Now that she gave herself “full permission to just make bangers”. Actually, the songs are rarely as simple as that. Kick Jump Twist, for instance, started as skeletal R&B before veering left into a clubland floor-filler. By contrast, Signal was all siren-like vocals and shimmering synths, while Song added some folkier elements to the mix.
They were best, though, at their feistiest. Die Young was built around a blaring synth riff and the refrain: “I was gonna die young, now I gotta wait for you.”
“You’re the first audience to sing along to that one,” said Meath. We won’t be the last: Sylvan Esso are simply too good to ignore.
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