The Apples in Stereo are the type of indie nerdcore that would have a fan repetitively solving a Rubik's cube standing in the front row of their show. That's not an arbitrary example, either - there actually was a guy in the front row solving a Rubik's cube over and over on Wednesday night at the Bowery Ballroom. It just goes to show that this band attracts its fair share of audiodorks. With their latest album, Travellers in Space and Time, The Apples in Stereo have really upped the geek ante; that they performed wearing futuristic space suits (impervious to the degradation caused by time travel) should really come as a surprise to no one.
Luckily, The Apples’ music is good enough to steer them far clear of sci-fi kitsch. They court a steady following of fans concerned with production values and studio techniques, but also hungry for some good old fashioned pop.
Well, I should check myself before I say “good old,” since it’s as much new as it is old – the Apples in Stereo sound like Brian Wilson stumbled across a treasure trove of vocoders and effect pedals and decided to shoot past sunshine and head instead for starscapes. It’s a funky mix of original yet oddly familiar melodies and instruments that have no business playing music this danceable. To get an idea of the weird edge that these guys perform on, you only need to look at frontman Robert Schneider; a co-founder of the fabled Elephant 6 collective (Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, Olivia Tremor Control), he has gone as far as creating an entirely new scale of music, ditching the Pythagorean in an attempt to create original rock and roll.
Looking at Schneider on stage, however, all that is an afterthought. First and foremost, this band is here to play upbeat songs that are fun to listen to. The show was a mix of new and old – a little less than half of the set material was drawn from the band’s latest album, which had been released the day before. The real hits of the set were older tunes though – “Energy,” “Sun Is Out,” and “Can You Feel It?” were all exceptional.
Part of what makes live music so great is the contagious synergy between band and crowd. When a band is enjoying themselves, the show is inherently more fun – the crowd is more enthusiastic, there are more smiles on stage, and it’s easier to let go and be swallowed by the music. The Apples in Stereo were clearly enjoying themselves. Taking numerous short breaks to talk to the audience and slow down the speedy pace with which the band was tearing through songs, Schneider cracked jokes about time travel; “We’re trying to move back in time to get to the 70s,” he quipped after asking the keyboardist what year they were in, “but somehow we keep playing in 2010 every night.”
The jokes were corny, but that’s part of the band’s appeal. They are a self-aware collection of talented musicians who don’t take this whole being a band thing too seriously. It’s not They Might Be Giants or Weird Al – the music is more sophisticated than that – but neither is it your typical image-obsessed indie act. The Apples in Stereo know it’s a gag, but the fact that they acknowledge that truth with a wink is what makes their shows so enjoyable.
“We’re just having fun with this whole time travel thing,” Schneider acknowledged, before tacking on, “Of course we’re having fun – it’s time travel!”
Setlist:
Dignified Dignitary
Hey Elevator
Go!
Energy
Dance Floor
Strawberryfire
Sun Is Out
Told You Once
The Rainbow
No One In The World
Next Year At About The Same Time
Can You Feel It?
Please
Same Old Drag
Ruby
