Walter Meego is a five piece synthpop band that sounds like of Montreal meets Islands meets Vampire Weekend.  Last night at The Echo, they filled their headlining set with the kind of dreamy dance pop that’s so in vogue right now. They began the set wth a host of soft, bustling synth sounds, and then suddenly the drummer came in with a force that shook the seat under me. In fact, the first song was so heavy on the kick drum and bass that their voices were barely discernible above the din: it was clear that the sound was going to be a recurring issue in their performance. But that didn’t stop a seemingly sparse crowd from suddenly coalescing in front of the stage, and by the end of the set there was a respectable throng of people nodding their heads if not outright dancing in the small space. For the duration of the performance, members of the audience shouted out the names of the songs that they wanted to hear, the band grinning and shrugging at their suggestions. The lead singer/guitarist/synth player paused briefly between songs, holding up his glass to toast the crowd. “It’s been a long…long time. Here’s to you, thanks for coming out!”

The second song felt like a streamlined, poppier version of an Animal Collective song. It’s clear that Walter Meego knows their way around a three part harmony, both synth players and guitar player lending their voices to the choruses. Their layered vocalizations and major chord changes on top of lots of noodling synths created a three dimensional wave of sound that washed over the crowd again and again. While I enjoyed the hearsick ballads filled with emotion and gorgeous longing, I also liked the fact that not every song was romantically-themed. They sang a new song about the surreality of life, asking the big questions of existence and purpose. One of their darker, more intricate songs was a Bowie-esque ballad dripping in psychedlia that reminded me of a James Bond theme. The song’s hook ‘Ghost in Love’ seemed appropriate for the spooky synth sounds and brooding minor chords. While the first half of the set was mostly downtempo numbers, it was obvious that Walter Meego had saved their wildest dance anthems for the end of the show. ‘Tomorrowland’ started the slow increase in tempo, a song imploring one’s love to show their true feelings. Though the song’s subject matter was somewhat bittersweet, I couldn’t help but smile at the background vocals singing endless ‘la la las’ beneath the lead singer’s pleading tone. As the show wound down, they kicked it into high gear with their dance party anthem ‘Forever’, and the crowd was more than ready to break out into all methods of dancing. The hardcore fans let loose and shook their entire bodies, and even the shy wallflowers surrounding the back wall couldn’t help but nod their heads to the infectious beat. What was really interesting was the lightning-quick transition from innocent, sweet indie pop band into a rollicking, sexy dance quintet. You could tell that the group was enjoying themselves as much as the crowd was, every member shaking their heads in time to the beats until the last synth chord rang out into the ether. I admit, I was a little disappointed by the poor sound quality, and their performance would have been far more effective had we been able to understand their introspective lyrics and catchy choruses. But I was impressed by the group’s ability to roll with the punches and put on a good show, regardless of techinical difficulties.

Walter Meego‘s recent album Voyager is available on iTunes. A new album should be available soon, keep checking their Myspace for more details! For now, I’ll leave you with the lyrics to the song that first got me interested in Walter Meego. As you can imagine from the lyrics, the titles is ‘In My Dreams’:

In my dreams, I can fly

I can swim in the sky

Move like I’m dancing on the air

To the music everywhere

Because you love me, yes you love me

In my dream