live music preview
Tanlines plays both sides of the coin, brings "winkysad" existential pop to Red7
Tanlines calls its sound "existential pop," or "winkysad," both descriptions apropos for an album named Mixed Emotions.
On the surface, it's just synthy summer fun, but those upbeat melodies are met with a decent dose of realism in the form of Eric Emm's lyrics. Check out the Brooklyn duo's (Emm and Jesse Cohen) show at Red 7 on Thursday night, and you can tune into to whichever frequency — dark or light — you'd like.
"A song can be poppy and sad at the same time, or it can sound like it’s in two places at once. I think it’s like a grown-up quality, that’s certainly what we’re going for – it’s just who we are and where we are now," Cohen recently explained to Dummy Magazine.
While tracks "Brothers" and "All of Me" have hovered around the top of indie music charts all summer long and the band had slots at almost every festival this "season," the most striking accomplishment the dudes might carry away from this year is having established themselves as downright likable.
Cohen serves as Tanlines' brand identity of sorts, manning the frequently updated Twitter account which pays homage the "winkysad" concept at every turn and pokes fun at the very subculture Tanlines exists within.
Thus far, live show reviews have been exceedingly positive, constantly referencing a yin-yang energy, influences like Erasure and Miike Snow and a tightness between Cohen and Emm that proves the band takes its current position atop the music business seriously.
Tickets are still available to check out Tanlines bring its markedly adult approach to bouncy, feel-good music to Austin for the first time outside of SXSW, a show that could shape up to be the perfect compliment to the twilight of summer.
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Tickets ($10) are available to the August 30 show (also featuring Love Inks and Learning Secrets) via Transmission. Doors are at 9 p.m.