All photos taken by Kellen Nordstrom | c/o The Echoplex, Los Angeles
We booked our trip to Los Angeles based around one event: Brooklyn duo, Tanlines‘ album release show for their sophomore album, Highlights, at The Echoplex on Monday, May 18. Sure, we found plenty of other reasons to head to the West Coast, but it all started around this show.To anyone who’s seen Tanlines previously, or anyone familiar with the band, Tanlines operated exclusively as a duo, made up of lead singer and guitarist Eric Emm and percussionist & bassist Jesse Cohen. On their most recent tour dates, the duo added members to become “Tanlines: The Band.” These new members, Cale Parks (who’s recorded with Yeasayer, Passion Pit, Owen) and Travis Dylan, each proved themselves worthy and added depth to the live show.
Not only did it provide depth to their sound, but it also seemed to boost the confidence of Emm and Cohen on stage. While Cohen is no stranger to humor and light-hearted banter, look at his smile in the photos above; he just oozes charisma and confidence. The duo seemed loose and more assured, with less pressure on both of Tanlines’ founding members.
It was great to see Cohen’s hands free enough to be able to lead the room’s many party people, who followed Cohen’s lead in waving their hands, pumping their fists, and singing along. Emm’s vocals were as smooth and impassioned as on both of their previous releases, proving his crooning are not the result of vocoder effects.
Tanlines entertained the crowd of 600-plus at The Echoplex that night with a mixture of songs new and old (see setlist below), including a track “S.A.W.” from a 2010 split 7″ with SALEM. But in the end the set didn’t seem to be long enough to maintain the celebratory nature of the show. While Los Angeles is certainly not the band’s home base, Cohen even said himself that the response at their previous L.A. shows made it feel necessary they play there on the eve of the album’s release. The band had been through a lot in the three years leading up to Highlights release, so I had expected Emm and Cohen to release a little more steam during the show, and perhaps perform more than the ten-song setlist plus two-song encore. But perhaps that’s just me being a selfish fan, because the show was more than worth the trip.
TANLINES @ ECHOPLEX (LA) SETLIST
Running Still
Slipping Away
Brothers
S.A.W
Bad Situations
Green Grass
Two Thousand Miles
Pieces
All of Me
Real Life
ENCORE:
Invisible Ways
Not The Same
TANLINES TOUR DATES – SUMMER 2015
