San Francisco – On Thursday, New York-based indie dark wave duo MS MR brought the house down at the cozy Rickshaw Stop. The twosome—consisting of vocalist Lizzy Plapinger and producer Max Hershenow (along with their touring bassist and drummer)—played a stellar dozen songs to a enthusiastically rapt sold-out crowd, showcasing several songs off their excellent 2013 debut Secondhand Rapture as well as a handful of new tracks from their as-yet-untitled sophomore effort, due later this year.
As luck would have it, Plapinger was celebrating a birthday at Thursday’s show, but that wasn’t the only cause for celebration. The set focused mainly on the band’s new material, which is silky, pensive, and enigmatic, mixing appropriate amounts of baroque morbidity with tasty electronica. They opened their set with the new track “Reckless,” a thumping bass-blaster whose runaway instrumentation and booming vocals would make Florence Welch blush.
About half of the set consisted of new tracks, while the other half was made up of songs from Secondhand Rapture, though the new tracks were played with more ferocity and heart than their older counterparts. “No Guilt in Pleasure” was a swift crowd favorite, boasting punctuated piano sections and boisterous synths and percussion throughout. “Leave Me Alone” is a much slower, deeper new track, almost dirge-like in nature, though the illustrious bridge takes it to an entirely different level (though still feels rather doom-like). With “How Does It Feel,” the synths were turned way up, and Hershenow playfully encouraged a sing-along of the chorus. The song had a very clear New Order “Blue Monday” feel to it—mostly because of the title/chorus, but also due to the song’s inherent bleak mystique. The main set was closed with the duo’s lead single for the new album—“Painted,” an infectious, high-energy track with artfully layered vocals and bright, crisp synthesized orchestration that toys with piano and brass tones in delightfully saccharine execution.
MS MR also treated the crowd to some older favorites from their debut LP, including the clap-heavy “Fantasy,” the delicately rage-fueled “Think of You” (‘This song is about people who are mean to you!’), and the aptly named “Dark Doo Wop,” which sounds like a Shirley Manson cover of an old Crew Cuts single. We were also treated to a brilliant performance of the dub-influenced “Salty Sweet,” which had the entire audience moving in a sort of hypnotic synchronization. It was actually really wild to watch a room full of people moving in the exact same way at the exact same rhythm…one of the reasons that live music is so great.
The encore is where MS MR brought out their “hits,” though before they played their encore, the entire audience—as well as the other band members—sang “Happy Birthday” to Lizzy, which was met with thunderous applause and an adorable reaction from Lizzy. After the celebratory hubbub settled, MS MR pulled out some fan favorites, starting with the amazing song “Bones”—which apparently is the first song Max ever wrote for MS MR (it was also featured in a Game of Thrones promo), and then closing with “Hurricane,” the first song off Secondhand Rapture and the band’s debut single. Both were met with heartfelt appreciation, exhibited through careful attention and fervent dance moves.
Though the set was rather short—and rather late; they didn’t take the stage until just past 11 o’clock—MS MR’s performance was colorful and impressive. Their nine-song main set felt much longer, but in a good way. The band seemed like they were having the time of their lives, and the crowd reciprocated magnanimously. If this show is any indication as to how the new album will sound, we’re all in for a treat. (Ed., Best New Bands has previously raved about their live performances.)
MS MR is currently on a rather scattered tour that touches down on various continents. Their sophomore album is expected later this year. For more information visit their Facebook page.
Corey Bell
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