Saturday September 14 is in our sights, and the Australian-born St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival will be setting up at Meadow Brook Music Festival to bring some of the current apples of the indie music world’s eyes to our home base. This week at Detroit Sounds Like This, we will be taking a closer look-and-listen at the artists who comprise Laneway’s roster and profile why these musicians were chosen to represent the Laneway Festival lineup. We hope our readers will discover more about the artists they may not know much about currently, and that it will inspire excitement and anticipation in those who are already familiar with the greatness of the festival’s chosen 24.
Sigur Rós
- Headlining the Pavilion Stage from 8:20-9:35 pm
Sigur Rós hail from Reykjavík, Iceland where their surreal, intoxicating post-rock developed by Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson, Georg Hólm, and Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson in 1994. With the seven albums they have released (including their latest, Kveikur), Sigur Rós have made a unique mark on the music world with the band’s lush arrangements, Jónsi’s use of bowed guitar, and the vocals sung in Vonlenska (or ‘Hopelandic’), a non-distinguishable language which focuses on melody and rhythm in vocal delivery rather than actual words. Sigur Rós are also known for their monumental live performances where the stage visuals, vocals, and music melt into a pounding wave which, as it crashes around you, envelopes you in a hazy sonic comfort. The band has played in Detroit as recently as April 1st at The Fox Theatre, and has consistently included Detroit as a stop when touring in the past. For those fans who have disappeared for hours in the euphoria of Sigur Rós’ music and have not yet experienced them live, there is not doubt that your schedule should be planned accordingly around their performance. For those curious, be sure to carve out time to bask in at least one of their numbers, the sensory overload may have you staying for several more.
Washed Out
- Headlining the Roscoe Stage from 7:25-8:15 pm
Ernest Greene went to graduate school in his native state of Georgia to study library science, but thank goodness for our ears that he decided to create dreamy, drowsy, synth-pop influenced music instead. Washed Out has been associated with the ‘Chillwave’ genre because of the upbeat pop sounds that loop through most of Greene’s work and the lo-fi production influence that give his music a designed summertime sound. Washed Out’s latest work, Paracosm, is a love-letter to the young, naive daydreams of yesterday and fits the Laneway bill perfectly for an end-of-summer treat. Fans of the satirical comedy show Portlandia will recognize Washed Out’s contribution of the theme song, “Feel It All Around,” from his first EP, Life Of Leisure. Washed Out played The Magic Stick their last time around Detroit, and will no doubt leave us until their next gig in town with an impression of endless summer.
The National
- Headlining the Derrick Stage from 9:40-10:55 pm
The last time The National was in town was August of 2010, when they played to a sold out crowd at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. If you were lucky enough to be one in the sea of people, or in the crowd at any show The National has put on, the intensity and dedication in their live performances is a standard they live up to each time they take the stage. Their performance at Laneway is guaranteed to resonate with fans of The National and appreciators of stirring, melancholy indie music in general. Over a decade into their careers as musicians, albums such as Alligator, Boxer, High Violet, and most recently Trouble Will Find Me, cement The National as a seminal indie band thanks to the deep baritone vocals of lead singer Matt Berninger, and the musicianship of two sets of brothers, twins Bryce and Aaron Dessner and Scott and Bryan Devendorf. The National have been touring hard to support their latest release and we are thrilled to welcome them back to Michigan.
For more updates on St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival Detroit, visit their official website, and keep an eye out tomorrow for more information regarding the artists playing Laneway at Detroit Sounds Like This.