Live Review: Sky Cries Mary

Sky Cries Mary are not your typical Seattle band. No grunge, no flannel, no dour worldviews. Rather, this extraordinary seven-piece tread a spacey, progressive territory somewhere between Pink Floyd and X.

SCM started as the brainchild of singer/visionary Roderick Romero, and their first two records were much closer to industrial music than the trippy, psychedelic vibe the band now puts out. By 1992, Roderick's wife Anisa had joined him on lead vocals, and their e.p. Exit at the Axis from that year signaled the turning point: lush guitars, keyboards, and even a turntable DJ supported Roderick and Anisa's gorgeous vocal blend. While reminiscent of John Doe and Exene from X in their tonal quality, the singers have a unique approach: most songs feature a subtle unison style that puts Roderick's matter-of-fact baritone underneath Anisa's rich, soaring melodies. At times her husband sounds like her subconscious, quietly repeating her words in stark, almost buried counterpoint to her dramatic singing.

Through three subsequent albums (A Return to the Inner Experience, 1993; This Timeless Turning, 1994; and their major label debut from this year, Moonbathing on Sleeping Leaves) SCM have honed their dream-like rock music to near perfection. Live, it'd be nice to have a comfy chair in which to sink while floating away on numbers like "Slow Down Time" and "These Old Bones", but I had no such luck at a packed RKCNDY this Saturday night. Filled with all manner of kids (including lots of young girls decked out in exotic costumes akin to Anisa's somewhat pretentious on-stage look), the club came alive during the 90-plus minute set. Concentrating mainly on material from the last two records (with an intense and lengthy set-ending "Elephant Song" from Axis), all seven members created a positively hypnotic experience. Michael Cozzi's guitar work alternately rocked and soothed in rich textural tones and Gordon Raphael's keyboards carried the bulk of the instrumental melodies. Todd Robbins added his usual samples and turntables (the only visual cue that this is a nineties band, not a sixties acid-test house combo). But the center of SCM is the vocal mix of Anisa and Roderick: powerful on rockers like "Grey Eyes", "Moonbathing" and "Shipwrecked"; creepy and menacing on "Elephant Song" and "Don't Forget the Sky" (my favorite moment of the set); soothing and ethereal on "Walk of Nothingness" and ""Queen of Slug Theatre").

Years ago SCM used trippy films as a backdrop to their live set, but they've swapped them for a dynamic light presentation that accentuates the essential nature of this unusual band; grab hold of the astral plane and take off…your body's just holding you down. Next time Sky Cries Mary hit your local club, feed your head and enjoy.

SETLIST:

Breathe In
An Ant, The Stars, an Owl, and Its Prey
Moonbathing->
Shipwrecked
Don't Forget the Sky->
Grey Eyes
Queen of Slug Theatre
These Old Bones->
Stretched
Ringing->
Smoke Break->
Want->
Every Iceberg is Afire->
Elephant Song

Encores: