Michelle Shiers on January 24th, 2015

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There were roses, of course, because the title of the album is “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.”

And there were other things exceedingly romantic, too, like virtually every song on that debut from Night Terrors of 1927. The L.A.-based band built around the collaboration between Jarrod Gorbel (ex-The Honorary Title) and Blake Sennett (Rilo Kiley, the Elected) celebrated this week’s release with the energy of a fresh, new band on Friday night at the Roxy.

The band, which debuted in the fall of 2012, gave a performance drenched in synth, reverb and big vocals, delighting fans as Gorbel and Sennett passed out red roses after each song, adding to their darkly romantic appeal. Gorbel’s vocal styling is reminiscent of a deeper Brandon Flowers and even with a recent influx of indie-electro-pop, Night Terrors still manage to stick out.

They opened their set with “Always Be One” from their ‘Anything to Anyone’ EP — a perfect energetic beginning that gave the show an expansive jump-start. Bordered by two large funeral crosses made of roses, Night Terrors — whose live lineup included keyboardist-vocalist Cecilia Della Peruti and drummer Rhys Hastings (both of Gothic Tropic) and bassist Todd Dahlhoff — boasted one shimmering anthem after another filled with heartsick lyrics backed by sweeping harmonies.

The greatest crowd response was reserved for “Dust And Bones,” originally from their “Guilty Pleas” EP, with the whole of the Roxy singing along in the throes of hazy electro-pop. The band called out special guest Madi Diaz to help perform “When You Were Mine” (Tegan and Sera guest on that song on the album). They moved into “Always Take You Back” just before their return to perform “Shine,” featuring only Gorbel and Sennett. Their encore was temporarily interrupted by an overzealous stage-hopper causing the band to cry out for a little courtesy, “It’s our first ever encore, drunk girl!” Certainly not their last.

Night Terrors of 1927 were preceded by Isla Vista’s FMLYBND who also showed off their knack for energetic synth-pop. Fronted by husband and wife Mac and Braelyn Montgomery, FMLYBND mixed Pixies and Joy Division covers with their own sugary tracks from their “Back To Life” EP. They warmed up the Roxy with sing-alongs and hair-whipping guitar riffs interspersed in melody and electronic rhythm.

Photos by Michelle Shiers