Nashville – The Richmond, VA-based band Avers stopped by the Stone Fox this past Friday night, and it just so happened to be a very damp, dreary Friday the 13th. However, despite the rain and the mud and the lingering superstition, fans of the psychedelic pop group flocked to the show in order to catch the unique and delightfully mystifying sound Avers is known for. With their sprawling setup and their six-person arrangement, the band easily dwarfed the small stage and packed the intimate space with curious first time listeners and devoted fans alike.
Though Avers is still fresh and has mostly flown under the radar, there’s been quite a bit of buzz circulating recently, and the conversation always comes back to their unique and delightfully mystifying sound. In terms of personnel, the band is nothing less than expertly crafted. Avers consists of The Head and the Heart’s Tyler Williams, James Lloyd Hodges of Farm Vegas, James Mason of The Mason Brothers, Adrian Olsen and Alexandra Spalding, both of Hypercolor, and Charlie Glenn of the Trillons. Have you ever witnessed such an impressive sextet? I certainly haven’t, and the resulting music is exactly what you’d expect it to be considering all the moving parts that make up the group—it’s innovative, experimental, but also a total throwback in all the right ways.
Many comparisons can be drawn between 60s psychedelic pop and the more contemporary sound Avers plays, and their hit “White Horses” had that characteristic trippy lilt to it right from the beginning. However, hearing their music in this live setting proved that listening to Avers is less of an act and more of an experience. It’s ethereal, fluid, and entirely one-of-a-kind, and you get the feeling that what you’re witnessing live probably won’t occur in the same exact way ever again. If the instrumentals didn’t already communicate this experience, the lyrics certainly support it. Everything going on here invites the listener to lose herself within the blooming guitar riffs and the misty flow of the vocals that seem to recede into the background.
My favorite moment, however, was when the band dove into “Empty Light.” Though the tempo slowed, this song revealed a raw and more honest side of the band. While all of the aforementioned components are still there—the lo-fi buzz, the trancelike, spiraling descent, the liquid progression—this song remains unlike anything else Avers played that night. Heard live, the soaring guitar that provides the backbone for the track transforms into something physical in the room—it takes up space and has presence. It transcended any labels listeners have tried to pin on their music thus far.
What’s next for Avers? Well, considering that a variety of outlets have picked the band as one to watch for 2015, big things definitely loom on the horizon. It feels as if we’ve already blown through the first three months of 2015 already, but I’m confident that this group will have a firm hold on the remainder of the year. With such an original sound backed by steady garage rock riffs mixed with retro psychedelic vibes, it’s no wonder everyone’s warming up to Avers. I’m currently waiting (not so patiently) for their next set of recordings, but in the meantime, I’ll try to be content with basking in their residual reverb.
Avers have a slew of appearances at SXSW this week before concluding their current tour in Birmingham, AL, at the Bottletree Café on March 22. Keep up with the Band’s progress via Facebook.
Photo of Avers by Nick Ghobashi
Amaryllis Lyle
Latest posts by Amaryllis Lyle (see all)
- Clear Plastic Masks Heat Up The High Watt - May 18, 2015
- Featured Artist: Dillon Hodges Of firekid - May 5, 2015
- Natalie Prass Returns To Nashville For A Sold-Out Set - May 4, 2015
