Ava Luna

Despite being plagued by sound problems that included hot microphones and a keyboard that oscillated between inaudible and overbearing, Ava Luna put together a solid set to round out my afternoon at the Neon Gold/Chess Club showcase at Public Assembly on Thursday evening. The band features female singers in addition to lead singer Carlos Hernandez, but rather than relegating those singers to a background role (like preceding act Alex Winston) Ava Luna brought the ladies to the forefront, a sort of Dirty Projectors model, for lack of a better comparison point. The resulting tunes were seriously good - a tight blend of interesting harmonies, great dynamics, and catchy songs.