The Few, the Proud, the Sleeveless: Wrinkles and Albatross Live
Wrinkles & Albatross Live @ Barboza
February 9, 2015
Words by Marcus Shriver
Photos by Osato Cooley
Montana band Wrinkles’ aesthetic resides somewhere between a Wes Anderson film a good dream pop band; bill mates Albatross play folk-inspired punk rock. Though these two genres may not normally go together, the tempos of the bands lined up very well, especially for the narrow corridors of Barboza where the February 9 show took place.
The heroic focus of Albatross‘ set was the gloomy and distant sadness of their music, which features heartbreaking lyrical content and folky vocals. Seemingly moving more towards the punk genre than they demonstrated on their first EP, I expect Albatross to be wildly successful in the Seattle music scene. They are progressing musically as they add members, instruments and effects, setting the stage for a much larger sound.
Wrinkles
Replete with matching button up flower shirts, Wrinkles had a fun, awkward chemistry within the band and with the crowd. They run a good mix of a deep, almost Depeche Mode-like vocals that leads the more electronica-sounding songs and a poppier voice for the more upbeat tracks. Their live show is a dance party with awesome keyboards and seamless progressions and changes. Adding to the fun is that fact that, with exception to the drummer and the lead guitarist, the band switches instruments on almost every song.
Wrinkles only has one song recorded, so seeing people in the crowd singing along to each track exemplified the dedication of their fanbase and illustrated just how catchy and memorable their songs are.
The band ended the show in their traditional way – by ripping the sleeves off of a crowd volunteer – but not before they brought out their back up dancers the “Wrinklettes,” who crowded the small Barboza stage and danced in place. It felt like a scene directly out of The Life Aquatic.
(Marcus Shriver is a student at Seattle University, where he serves as the Promotions/Live Event Coordinator for KXSU Radio. This is his first contribution to NadaMucho.com.)