Thinking and Dancing

Friday night, I dropped by the Drake for some upbeat music. Opener Tilsen was the typical plaintive indie songwriter. She'll probably grow as an artist. But I couldn't help noticing how generic a lot of pop songs are, not that hers were worse than usual. It was just that during one tune, she inadvertently used lyrical phrases from several songs.

The middle act, oddly named The Nursery,  brought up the tempo with an odd mix that's best described as synth-punk. It didn't really engage me until they switched halfway through into rather pretentious songs that reminded me of Evanescence. That worked for me. Might as well go over-the-top than too bland.

Headliner Parallels was releasing new EP Civilisation. Though almost every number was upbeat and encouraged dancing, the lyrics ranged far afield from love songs. Similar to Austra, Parallels pondered earnestly on the world and the human condition. It made fun, but relatively generic synth-pop, more interesting. One minor cavil: sometimes their attempts to fit in wordy lyrics came at the expense of a good hook or melody.