Sunday, September 13, 2015

Oryx & Crake at The Earl, Atlanta, September 12, 2015


Atlanta's orchestral folk-pop project, Oryx & Crake, celebrated the release of their second album, Marriage, last night at The Earl, with singer Sye Elaine Spence opening.


After an excruciating 40-minute break between sets (what were they waiting for?), Oryx & Crake finally took the stage a few minutes after 11:00 pm and as happens at these shows, as soon as they started playing all was forgiven due to the magical regenative powers of rock 'n' roll.  The first thing one noticed as the band started was how well dressed they were for a Saturday night gig.  


The gowns, jackets and ties were all in keeping with the wedding-reception theme of the evening, based on the title of their new album, Marriage.  Even the event poster looked like a wedding invitation.

Oryx & Crake release their new record, "Marriage," on Deer Bear Wolf Records this Saturday at The EARL with Sye Elaine Spence and a reception afterwards featuring Dot.s at Argosy's Brig. 

Several members of the audience were also in gowns in keeping with the theme.


Oryx and Crake are a sextet fronted by the husband-and-wife duo of Ryan Peoples and Rebekah Goode-Peoples, and includes a cellist and a violinist in addition to the usual rock instrumentation. The band plays orchestral folk-pop in the manner of bands like Typhoon and The Family Crest, although they've also been compared to Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, and Lost in the Trees.  I find comparisons misleading, so here are some samples of their music:


The diversity of their compositions and instrumentation was highlighted by Ryan's playing of a singing saw during the final song of their set.


The stage was decorated by several colorful sculptures hung against the walls and at the end of their set the band demonstrated that the sculptures were in fact actually masks by putting them on and, accompanied by a small brass band, leading the audience on a march out of The Earl into a backroom of the adjacent Argosy restaurant for an after-show party.


Another Atlanta band, DOT.S, provided the music for the after party,


Marriage can be ordered through Deer Bear Wolf.

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