El Perro Del Mar
Ah the lovely Sarah Assbring…she is understated and subtle but when she sings, you know she means the easily anthemic words that make up her songs. The key to the music is that the lyrics are simple enough (usually one or two lines) for you to know the songs right away and for the syllables to permeate your brain. Although they are uncomplicated and don’t seem to involve heavy metaphors or allusions, they are great in the sense that they seem to be something everyone can relate to, even if the lyrics and the music itself seem utterly incongruent at first. For example, take “Party.” Anyone else might sing “Come on over baby there’s a party going on” accompanied with a heavy bass rift and a steady drum beat. Sarah sings it like she’s inviting someone to a funeral. In another song, “Candy,” she speaks about going to buy candy on a Saturday night. But again the way she sings it almost makes the lyrics seem like they should be something different. This is no coffee crisp she’s getting. Cadbury won’t be benefiting from any shopping trips. On songs like “Dog” and “This Loneliness,” the lyrics are more fitting with the music you could easily sob to. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though as there was the slightly more upbeat “God Knows” where she talks about giving to get back. The songs were also often complemented by backup male vocals not heard on the album. No matter what songs she sang, there was a great sense of stage presence and mood. Soft and vulnerable, Sarah is the kind of girl you hope keeps putting out music because you’ve been able to make her songs yours and you inevitably can’t get enough of them.
Read Nicole’s review of the set on Radio Free Chicago
View the complete photo set on flickr
Setlist:
LA’s two piece The Submarines opened up for El Perro Del Mar and were best when they were a little on the twee side. The male female duo was more preferable with Blake Hazard singing the main melody, though there could have been more harmonizing between the two of them. I’ll give them bonus points for covering a Luna song and having Jason Falkner as a top friend on myspace.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:11 am
Listened to El Perro del Mar live is more than just satisfied. When she sing, it’s like she put the spell on the crowd.
You’re absolutely right, I still can’t get enough of them.