Bodies of Water w/ Port O'Brien and Tulsa - Skully's

It’s a testament to the ever-expanding canopy of indie rock that Bodies of Water can nestle comfortably next to several other similar groups. In a game of Connect 4, the band would be your winning token on top of Akron/Family, Arcade Fire and Danielson Famile—groups that feel more like micro-communities that happen to play music rather than mere bands. If you’re into that, Bodies of Water is your bread and butter.

And yet, on Monday night at Skully’s, the Los Angeles band revealed over and over again what keeps it from being just another commune of rockers.

It all came to a head on “Gold, Tan, Peach, and Grey,” the exceptionally strong opening track off the band’s latest, A Certain Feeling. It was one of the set’s standouts, too, and I’m pretty sure it’s the only eschatological prog-rock gospel anthem I’ve ever heard.

In it, the husband-and-wife team of David and Meredith Metcalf led the band through visions of the end days, starting softly, then building boisterously as the world melds into the song title’s colors. “Sever the silver cord/And break the golden bowl/And let us return to dust/And be at last made whole,” David Metcalf sang in near-cabaret tones, describing a new world without “talk of where or when” or “feelings of vague rapport.”

Meredith Metcalf dominated the end of the number singing from behind the keys, her beanpole frame bouncing madly to let the notes escape. She’s something to hear and behold, a tiny woman with an outrageously big range that often reaches into operatic territory.

“Only You” found the band slow and overcast (yet still captivating), but the vast majority of the songs revealed the band’s skill at crafting irony-absent compositions with distinct and often surprising movements. “Water Here” completely changed moods halfway through, abruptly jumping from a sing-along tribal song to something much funkier with a driving, contagious beat. David Metcalf’s impressive versatility on guitar was just as essential as the drums on multi-movement tunes like these. He’s a deceivingly great guitarist.

Between tunes, the band expressed its disappointment that White Castle is one of Columbus’s best examples of “regional food.” I was equally disappointed that the band neglected to include “Under the Pines” in its set, but “These Are the Eyes” made for a great closer, with the Metcalfs and company chanting “Nature forgave but I cannot forget” with increasing speed and ending with a bang. Not a whimper.

The intriguingly named Van Pierszalowski, the barefoot singer for the previous act, Port O’Brien, aptly described his group as an “Alaskan country-rock band.” In a different world, Pierszalowski could have fronted an early ’90s grunge band (“Tree Bones” sounded a whole lot like a Nirvana Unplugged tune), but in this world he leads his merry band of musicians through Neil Young-tinged soundscapes with lots of nautical references—presumably from his prior experience as an Alaskan fisherman.

The band picked up on the small crowd (Skully’s feels cavernous on a slow night) and seemed to be playing mostly to itself and cracking inside jokes, but it didn’t detract too much. Port O’Brien could give the Black Crowes a few lessons in jamming, too: Several songs broke out of acoustic mode and into instrumental breakdowns with frenetic, creative leads and rhythms. The tunes didn’t have as much power as Bodies of Water’s, but the band wasn’t a bad precursor nonetheless.

Tulsa opened the night, and the Boston trio reminded me of reverb-heavy rockers like Band of Horses, (early) My Morning Jacket and even Fleet Foxes, but forgoing a crystalline sound for a dirtier, more vintage vibe. Like label mate Dr. Dog, the band has a love for classic rock and pop.

The singer looked strikingly young, so I’ll be curious to see how he develops the band’s sound beyond something that right now doesn’t deserve too much more than a cursory mention. But a song like “Mass” shows the potential is there.

mp3: Bodies of Water - Under the Pines
mp3: Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today
mp3: Tulsa - Mass