Great Northern

Spaceland - August 10, 2007

Live Review by Sarah Jane

In this modern age of poseur with a u McCarthyism, this evening’s show confirmed my suspicions of Great Northern’s emo sympathies. I had noticed some time ago that co-singer/songwriter/guitarist Solon Bixler’s hair was a tad asymmetrical, but chalked that up to growing out a haircut. Tonight, however, he was wearing the unmistakably sceneagery peg-leg black skinny jeans – the kind that bunch up at the bottom, black and gray striped boxer briefs and keys dangling from a carabiner. In her suspendered skintight jeans and whiteface make-up co-singer/songwriter/keyboardist Rachel Stolte resembled a lady version of Malcolm McDowell’s Alex. After listening to the gossamer tide of notes that is Trading Twilight For Daylight, A Clockwork Orange is not the filmisch denotation you’d expect in a review of a Great Northern show. Their age-inappropriate fashion tribalism was a harbinger of The Faint-like noise “art” to come. It was Moogier than the Moogiest Moog synthesizer arrangement reassignment surgery recipient Wendy Carlos could’ve dreamt up. Nobody at the show will be able to listen to Beethoven ever again.

Firstly, Spaceland’s sound wasn’t good. Secondly, Great Northern didn’t sound good. They might’ve been having an off night. Or maybe their Trading Twilight For Daylight producer, Mathias Schneeberger, is a miracle worker. Either way I hope they thanked ProTools in the album's liner notes. Stolte’s voice was shrill yet ragged. Not much in the way of vocals was heard from xxBiixlerxx, but I know his mike was on cuz he hooted like an owl in between songs. The one-song-floats-into-another vibe Trading Twilight For Daylight has going was replaced with manifold wtf sounds of grinding, pounding and intermittent baby toy pings like that of a duplex being built next to a pre-school. Tickle me emo was never so audibly personified. Have I mentioned how amazing their debut full-length Trading Twilight For Daylight is? It’s indie incredible space pop. The songs work on different emotional levels. It’s best if you listen to it start to finish…so buy the album Trading Twilight For Daylight available at any fine music retailer.

Tens of people who’d heard enough walked out, but like a self-imposed Ludovico technique I waited. Since Great Northern has only ten songs to their repertoire you might think they’d play a cover or try out some new material. They didn’t. I really wanted to hear Great Northern perform  “The Middle” - one of my Push Repeat favorites from Trading Twilight For Daylight. In my Trading Twilight For Daylight review I wrote: “The His & Hers vox are best used in “The Middle” – their synthtastic “Hello, Goodbye” give and take is akin to an Aimee Mann and Michael Penn-style un-Acoustic Vaudeville. And stirs memories of the Almost Famous scene when Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs tells young Cameron Crowe of his unpopularity with the kids at school “You'll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.”

The song is one of Great Northern’s more straightforward, classically structured pop compositions. Perhaps it’d be easier for them to execute than their avant-garde fare - a chance to redeem themselves.

Woeful sigh.

Maybe Great Northern’s shows will get better with time. Maybe they won’t. Their album Trading Twilight For Daylight is still awesome though.