Portland – There really is something special about seeing a musician experience a rebirth, taking the essentials of his craft and adding a daring splash of vitality to the mix. Portland musician Benjamin Tyler has been involved in the Portland music scene for a while, recording and playing shows under the name Stepkid. He has since expanded his colorful sonic palette and recruited a band of fresh new faces for his new project, aptly named Small Skies. Tyler and crew stepped onstage at the Doug Fir Lounge with an adventurous new enthusiasm and a readiness to explore the freeing possibilities of performing with a full band.
On the eve of their self-titled debut album’s release, Small Skies could be mistaken for a band with years of touring experience. Despite some early mixing issues and rhythmic hesitance, the foursome delivered a remarkably solid set of brand new songs for the eager audience. They seemed to blend soaring synths and hypnotic rhythms into a kind of ethereal landscape, a place where the strange desires of the heart bleed into reality. Each new song was marked by a spacey bridge sequence; though some were simply filler for preparation’s sake, it gave the impression of cohesion throughout the performance.
I found myself utterly entranced by the otherworldly reverie of “In the End”, a cascading free-fall through iridescent mountainscapes. Other memorable songs like “So Long” and “Never See You Again” were rich with airy textures and crushing beats, with the latter courtesy of Tyler’s contorted sense of time. The effect was that of episodic clipping, made more palpable by the distorted clips of vintage film displayed behind the band. It is easy to see why the multitasking drummer/vocalist was eager to increase the band’s roster: it allowed the songs more room to breathe, with each member providing a noticeable expanse upward and outward into nebulous new territory.
The group’s knack for radiant, dreamy pop songs comes from Tyler’s willingness to experiment with his new bandmates. He credits their expansive range of musical talents and a shared synergetic passion for evolving Stepkid into something more ambitious. Keyboardist Eli Savage brought a haunted eeriness to the breaking waves of synths, while Andrew Jones provided the tightly rounded bass groove. The lovely instrumentalist Angela McIlvain’s golden harmonic hues added splashes of color to the rich tapestry of sound. She seemed the confident charmer onstage during a particularly spirited cover of Bjork’s “Hyperballad”.
Of course none of this would be possible without Benjamin Tyler’s digital layering and lock-tight drumming, which proved to be the centerpiece of this vibrant performance. For the encore, he returned to the stage to perform two songs from his Stepkid repertoire. Both were marked by heady waves of psychedelia, with the finale “Saccharine” spiraling into dense Afro-Cuban rhythms that boggled the mind. It was clear then where Tyler had gained his sizable following, and from where Small Skies had originated. His brand of pensive electronic musings has been morphed into something more tangible, made possible by the introduction of an optimistic new mindset.
There are dream pop bands who cannot seem to detangle their own emotions from the viscous webs of sound that they create. Small Skies succeeded in brandishing their own unique flavor of meditative whimsy without leaving their audience lost in the haze. These stylish dreamweavers are just getting started, and with only one show under their belt you can bet there’s plenty more to look forward to.
