The Billiken Club welcomed another show to campus on Monday, Feb. 28, consisting of Akron/Family and Delicate Steve.
Both bands formed on the east coast and brought their unrivaled beats to the city of St. Louis to promote new albums, “Akron/Family II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT” and “Wondervisions,” respectively.
The music of Delicate Steve transcends the English language; in fact, it seems to transcend any language with its almost nonexistent lyrics.
With an almost bluesy feel, the band utilizes their instruments in such a way that compensates for the lack of words.
The composition of such a variety of sounds is nothing less than exciting; the beats combine the upbeat rhythm of a Disney soundtrack with the drama of which only a full orchestra is capable.
The nearly complete absence of words works for the band’s benefit to draw the focus to the complete individuality of each song and to the harmonic detail that is sometimes void when cluttered with complex vocals. The only lyricism that Delicate Steve offered was reminiscent of a stereotypical tribal song, a style that did not fully match up with the electronically enhanced instrumentals.
While every song was noticeably unlike the next– each seeming to emphasize a different instrument– they all seemed to retain the common factor of a histrionic decrescendo, which proved to be astoundingly pleasant for listeners.
Delicate Steve’s fan-base reared its head when the announcement was made that the band would play two more songs before Akron/Family took the stage, only to be met with the emphatic request for four more songs.
To the cynics who do not think that instrumental music holds the potential for enjoyment, Delicate Steve might just change your mind.
This band may not explicitly use lyrics to their advantage, but it does not mean that their songs are not worth a thousand words. Perplexing the audience with instructions for a sort of hypnotic dance, Akron/Family graced the stage next with an attempt to evoke an out-of-body experience from their fans.
The heartbeat percussion continued throughout the song to keep listeners on the imagined beach embarking on an odyssey of the imagination.
Best described as psychedelic, the kaleidoscopic sound electrified into a less-than-pleasant cacophony of digitized melodies that shifted back into a soft-spoken, lullabyish beat.
From that point, the cycle seemed to continue. Akron/Family would lull its listeners into a satisfied contentedness, only to jar them into a harsh reality of consciousness.
The shifts provided a sense of suspense, but the resulting auditory roller coaster was a colossal sacrifice to pay.
During these hiatuses of debilitating instrumental onslaughts, the band resembled the Arctic Monkeys or the Strokes with their simplistic tranquility.
The performance itself should be commended, as Akron/Family was able to involve their audience like a seasoned entertainer, a skill that has obviously contributed to their fan base.
Overall, the band has the potential to excite and soothe, though the execution of the two together lacked necessary fluidity.
