In the process of setting up and sound checking their huge collection of instruments, Anathallo sacrificed a song from their set. Perhaps that's the perpetual burden of having seven extremely talented multi-instrumentalist members. They apologized for the delay, but not for their convictions: "We'd rather get it right." After Anathallo's set at the Anticon/Ghostly International showcase, I have to say: "apology accepted."
As promised, Anathallo got it right in a big way. The horns were bright and clear, and Matt Joynt and Erica Froman's harmonies and alternating lead vocals were charged and earnest. One of the show's highlight came when Joynt switched over to the keyboard for "The River," off the band's most recent album, "Canopy Glow." Lyrically tied to natural themes, as the name suggests, the song starts with choppy piano and layered harmonies, gathers into ringing percussion, and rises into an ecstatic and crashing chorus of drums.
Anathallo's sound is immediately accessible, but incredibly mutilayered. The comparisons to Sufjan Stevens are immediate, but the crazy energy onstage—coupled with the warm horn arrangements and frantic percussion—are reminiscent of The Arcade Fire. In any case, Anathallo stunned a packed showcase at Mohawk and left me wishing that they had time for just one more.
