Concert review: Matthew & the Arrogant Sea, Sleep Whale, and This Will Destroy You (September 5)

by Sarah Crisman

DALLAS — Sometimes you just have to trust the booking manager. I knew it would be difficult to go wrong with the lineup of two bands I know I like, and another I was told I liked. I would have never thought to put Matthew and the Arrogant Sea with Sleep Whale; but I have to say, it made sense.

The Arrogant Sea started the evening with "Solomon Burke's Greatest Hits" off the album Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian (a record presently earning well-worn in grooves on my Hi-Fi). Matthew Gray's voice effortlessly transformed the theater into a tabernacle with his sacrament of sound, and the audience seemed aware that we were in for a spiritual experience, whether we liked it or not. The powerful male vocals between the bandmates are reminiscent of Arcade Fire in their ability to produce goosebumps across my arms. The gentle twang of the lead guitar left silence in just the right places, allowing Gray's truly magnificent voice to bounce off your ears. It was quite overwhelming, and made me think that this must be what whales hear when they talk to each other -- a distant familiarity that someone of your own kind is out there, even if they're too far away to realize you are listening. The final song of the evening was about a siren ("And This is Where the Story Ends"), and I couldn't help but think there were perhaps a few siren in danger of drowning in this Arrogant Sea.

My only beef with MATAS was the absence of my favorite track, "Marrie Me Annie." I took this up with the band after the show with a wag of my finger immediately followed by a sincere request for them to play Annie for me at their next show (at Hailey's on September 27, as luck would have it). That's the best part of knowing bands. If you ask real nice, they'll let you push the buttons on the juke box every once in awhile.

I had forgotten in my anticipation to see Sleep Whale again that their first album, Little Brite (released under band alias, Mom), has been my nap-time record for the better part of three months now. The hypnosis that began during the Arrogant Sea really kicked in as we were all lulled into an aural sense of security -- a rare feat for any band featuring two drummers.

It's important to understand that the instrumentation of Sleep Whale plays like a celestial toy box and should not be trusted at the hands of anyone except Joel North and Bruce Blay. You can't throw any old musician behind a drum kit with a violin, a mixing board, bells, and several other instruments I frankly have never seen before -- no, no. You need musical Macgyvers that also happen to be deeply spiritual in their craft.

It is also worth noting that Paul North (Joel's brother) has been playing guitar with Sleep Whale for a spell now. His band, Sunnybrook, is doing quite well. You'll be hearing more about that later...

Here is where we learn that bands with epic monikers should not be taken lightly. A band called "This Will Destroy You" means business (especially when the closest comparison to their sound is "Explosions in the Sky"). They mean it. You will be destroyed. I sincerely felt like I had been meditating for several hours once the show was over. When was the last time you walked away from a show entirely revived?

It was as though these four guys from San Marcos -- actually, one of them is from Dallas -- spent an hour playing music that broke down frequencies in ways that help you sort out your mental state. Like you know yourself a bit better, even if you're not exactly sure why. The three guitarists would, at points, stoop down to their pedals and before you knew it, noises were happening. I'm pretty sure human ears couldn't detect what was going on, but if you held your hand to your pulse, the vibrations could clue you in. It was intense. I'm listening to them now and I still can't explain to you what's going on. I just know that I like it, and that when they come back to town I'm going to make sure lots of people know about it. This band won't be a Texas secret for very long.