On another gloomy night in Portsmouth, the only thing bigger, darker and thicker than the surrounding clouds is the moustache perched upon the upper lip of Local Natives’ guitarist and vocalist, Taylor Rice. Once you get over the initial resemblance to Mario (or maybe Luigi), the Californian bands’ live show leaves a lot more to think about than slightly ridiculous facial hair.
After releasing a debut as polished as Gorilla Manor, many bands would struggle to replicate such an accomplishment live, but Local Natives take it in their stride. The drums and rhythms come to into the foreground especially on Who Knows, Who Cares, while the basslines remain softly prominent throughout. Sparse percussive breakdowns rumble around the in the middle of songs laying a pathway for euphoric sing-a-long choruses like that of Wide Eyes. The vocal harmonies are consistently flawless making use of the voices of the whole band at times but even when just one voice can be heard, it still has considerable force and resonance in a fairly packed Wedgewood Rooms.
The songs are largely led by drums and guitars until Airplanes, which lets the piano take centre stage, and with the addition of mandolin shows yet another dimension to Local Natives style. At times there are elements vocally and elsewhere that seem like an American version of Wild Beasts, but as one of the front men, Kelcey says, they’re ‘not just crazy Americans’. Where Wild Beasts coax fans in with a similarly entrancing delicacy to their vocals and delivery, they’re never quite capable of delivering the final punch. Local Natives however, finish the job and cap off gentle builds with potent choruses and more aggressive instrumentation. The band has a clear, profound effect on their audience that others just aren’t capable of and it makes for a constantly captivating set that doesn’t take long to attract more focus and significance than the moustache, or the weather.
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