At Nectar Lounge on Thursday, the atmosphere was as jovial as one could expect for an electronic ambient show. The crowd gathered this June evening to celebrate both the release of Obelus’ new LP, Montana, and coincidentally, drummer Adam Pessl’s birthday. With plenty of friends and family in attendance, the duo played an exploratory set, ranging from ambience to fully structured vocal tracks.
Setting the stage for Obelus were the slow-moving melodies of Tarlton, chilled beats by ndCv, and a DJ set by Ghostly International producer Lusine. ndCv was particularly impressive, as he meandered about using, at most, three to four clearly defined layers of sound (think: bass, percussion, melody). At certain points, particularly when the bass line became less percussive and compact, the result was a minimalist’s Postal Service, brighter and bouncier than the remainder of the set. After ndCv, Lusine cleansed the aural palate with a dubby house set, mixing in “Drop It Like It’s Hot” slowed down by about 10 degrees, morphing it into a dub-step rumbler.
Obelus’ Adam Pessl and Jason Goessl then took the stage, with Pessl on a electronic and live drum kit, and Goessl on heavily effected guitar and bass. Their performance was separated into three sections, starting with the duo performing two songs off of their new album, which was actually recorded two years ago at the Pessl family ranch in Big Sky, Montana. The album is as expansive as the locale, with Goessl’s guitar washes reverberating off one another, and Pessl’s drum kit reduced to flourishes rather than rhythms. Moving on, ndCv was brought back up to the stage to round out the duo, and it was here the group was at their best. The sound shifted easily from ambience to a slowly building wall-of-sound, with layer on top of layer added in a way that was partly a jam session and partly a intricately planned construction. At it’s heights, it was difficult to tell what was played on keyboard and what was played on guitar (so finely were they tuned to one another), with the mixture of acoustic and electronic drums bringing a welcome variation in percussion.
The show was then rounded off with a few songs played with vocalist Caitlin Sherman, and it seemed as though an entirely different band finished the show for them. What was soaring layered melodies became mediocre pop structured tunes that came off like lounge music on acid. As an experimental band that has been around for a few years, it seems logical for the duo to explore the realm of the vocal/chorus structure, but where they excel is when they grapple between the mechanical and the organic, exemplified by the two personalities of Pessl and Goessl. Pessl is almost robotic behind the drums; clean-cut, wearing a t-shirt with headphone schematics on the back. Goessl on the other hand, is wearing a 70’s inspired flowery polyester shirt, noodling about on his guitar and bass. It is this oppositional dynamic that provides Obelus the ground-work to create their most interesting, and satisfying, music.
For more on Obelus, check out their MySpace.