Concert Review: The Lagoons Cooly Swim At Mercury Lounge
I said it with Oliver Hazard and with Lewis Capaldi, people are attracted to artists that appear like your roommate. Maybe, it is because most of us Millennials, especially in NYC, are rooming with 8 people in a bathroom for 800 bucks per person. Thus, The Lagoons’ Mercury Lounge show proved there is something approachable and light about feeling like the artist on stage is also your buddy off it.
Maybe, that is the “new charm”/ secret weapon of rising artists: roommate appeal. As the experimental, Brooklyn duo bantered, you go the feeling that they know “the grind” and hustle of most NYC Millies; we are dreamers seeking to live for our art, while simultaneously taking dead-end jobs. The LA brothers have charmed NYC, an ocean of artists, by creating music that pervades with the dreams of what we want, hopes we get what we need, and sings to doing what we must do to get either while feeling sort of happy.
“Wonderful”, “Escape”, and “Desert Sky” were just a few tracks that spoke to reaching for the skies while sinking in life’s quicksand. Yet, that does not mean you stop reaching. Their lyrics approach the embittered optimism that comes with having rough patches in love, career, and general esteem while secretly feeling that it will get better. Why shouldn’t it? Yes, we all complain, but we all continue to hope, and it is hard not to feel twinges of optimism from the multi-instrumental duo, especially when the sax comes out.
I think I was Lisa Simpson in a past life because anything with a sax makes me feel cartoonishly happy. Yet, there is a “beachy,” slightly delicate psychedelia that matches the Lagoons’ chilled, smiling personas. I could not stop thinking of acts like Glass Animals or Vampire Weekend; two major groups that are also known for their synth-infused, guitar arrangements and the velvety textured vocality of their lead singers. While Joey and Ryan harmonize, it is Ryan’s voice that stream-lines their music/ presence as a literal pair of bros trying to match getting by with getting happy. For More Information On The Lagoons Click Here.
