Making one’s debut in Los Angeles can be an iffy proposition, especially if a band is saddled with a midnight set — on a Sunday night. However, Portland’s dream-pop darlings Blouse didn’t seem to have much to worry about when a massive crowd crammed itself into the Echo for a sold-out show.
- ||| Photos by Oliver Walker
Helmed by vocalist and guitarist Charlie Hilton, the trio-turned-quartet (a keyboardist was just added) managed to play with the sound space inside the venue to accommodate their heavily Cure-influenced palette. However, as much as their music swelled and soothed, Blouse seemed so bound by their own nostalgia, so wrapped up their own dream state, that their songs of time machines and shadows confined the show to detached, hazy state.
But this is not necessarily a statement about the band’s ego. There’s no harm is being in tune with your own melodies, grooves and aesthetic. As much as Blouse’s fuzzy lo-fi/chillwave hit the mark in the romantically sweeping arches of opening songs such as “Controller” and “Shadow,” their lush soundscape was a devastating disconnect from the band’s interaction with the audience.
Hilton — who held her guitar pick in a closed palm tightly to her side and frequently closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky — cast a figure of someone lost in her own dreams. However endearing, she made little effort to move with their spiraling riffs. If anything, Blouse inspired fans to close their eyes and listen, rather than watch the music unfold.
Hilton’s vocals were as silky as they are on record, and the shifting keys in songs such as “Firestarter” and “White” made the playful banter of bass and guitar nearly soul-enveloping. Perhaps this way, Blouse came off as mystical and seductively retro.
Then again, songs such as the murky pop of “Videotapes” and the gothic undertones of “Into Black,” saved for just before their unexpected encore, almost made up for the band’s lack of connection. Because sometimes, closing your eyes at a show isn’t the most horrible thing you have to do. It’s certainly not a new stratagy for some music fans.
