Ava Luna: Anxiety and its Discontents
It is a working theory of mine that there can only be a maximum of three or four great Brooklyn bands at all times. By the force of things, it seems that as the various decrepit venues composing our musical scene bear witness to exciting new acts, so too must they see older, once glorious groups drive their art to piffle. The reverse is also true, and oftentimes both ignominious plunges and magnificent comebacks have been heralded by a change of name – the obvious success here being Mr. Twin Sister and their newly alliterative moniker. One of them, however, has so far managed to levitate above all this nonsense and maintain a worthy (to say the least) output for the past five years (or so?). Fortunately for us, they – Ava Luna – have recently released a new song, in addition to announcing a new album, failing yet again to let us down. Oh but how could they?
Nervous? Nah, cool as ice (level).
It is true critics often seem confused by their music, going so far as to describe it as ‘nervous’, a term I am somewhat happy to see they’ve themselves appropriated (unless, as I sometimes suspect, the band came up with it themselves… sneaky). Though the new song probably should, it is so far unlikely to rid them of that title: its last lyric (“love ain’t gonna pay my bills”) can only be the cause of great anxiety to anyone who has yet to find out its relative untruth.
Nonetheless, pseudo-educated thoughts on the matter have led me to find that this confusion arises over two things, both characteristics of the band’s music: dissonance and alternating rhythm. While those aren’t exactly nervosity-causing in themselves, their importance lies here in what they deviate from. At the band’s best, the subtle dissonance creates an underlying tension to the band’s melodies, often succeeding in increasing their emotional depth. Likewise, rhythm changes are able to engineer a similar effect by bringing sudden back and forths between sweet, at times funky grooves, and their stronger alternatives. Perhaps these, along with the frontman’s falsettos, are why their brand of soul is so described.
All that, however, should not distract from what truly sets Ava Luna apart. As with most other Brooklyn bands, their music seems torn between conformity and experimentation. Should you, dear reader, ever wander randomly through various Bushwick and (in the few venues that remain) Williamsburg shows, you would find there two types of musicians: the conformists (be they electronic pop, easy rock, etc…), and the experimental (who will blend dissonance, lack of rhythm and varied instrumentation into tasteless brown). If that may seem harsh it’s because it is… if ever so slightly – but as with most generalizations of its kind the accuracies are significant, and one should note that the exceptions encountered are more often than not visiting acts.
Ava Luna manages, on their most accomplished pieces, to navigate the line between one and the other better than any of their fellows. More importantly, perhaps, is that such performances are the result of a melodic (and harmonic) understanding beyond that of the scene’s other bands. This manifests itself best on songs such as Ice Level (a track more deserving of posterity than most who’ve claimed it) and Past The Barbary (which possesses an ending unmatched since, well, the newly-arrived Billz), and enables the much praised (I hope?) instrumentation and vocal heroics of their first album and EP.
A show of theirs at a Bushwick deli, shortly after the release of Ice Level, will long be ingrained in my memory as one of the best I’ve ever seen – simply because they somehow associated the talents mentioned above with incredible showmanship. A feat rarely achieved, even if the crowd’s inebriation that night was very much near blissful perfection.
Deli acoustics: surprisingly good.
It is true their second full-length, Electric Balloon, wasn’t quite on par with the first – though in their case not ‘on par’ does still mean ‘some magnificence contained’ (see Crown or Plain Speech, for example). One should nonetheless keep in mind that Ava Luna had at the time lost both a vocalist and a synth-guy (for lack of a better word?), and thus found themselves in need of reorientation towards more guitar-centered pastures. The new song definitely does offer strong hints the slight slump was momentary, all the while keeping tactful ambivalence as to whether the coming record’s sound will be closer to their first, or their second. Always a nice touch.
In any case, Ava Luna will be showcasing their talent in New York in April, playing for Williamsburg hipsters at their lovely headquarters on the 17th, and their Bushwick fellows at theirs on the 18th. Deciding on which to go to just doesn’t do well.