hooves on the turf

Photos and report from my lovely roommate, Lorelei:

Architecture in Helsinki had a full house – a full, mad house – of frenzied fans at the Irving Plaza on Friday night. The primordial feel of their latest single was pre-empted – before the band even appeared onstage – by the bellowing of witchdoctor weekenders* in the front row. So everyone seemed well and truly tribal by the time the boom dah-dee dah-dee dah dee boom of ‘Heart It Races’ emerged as if from a swamp that had been a thousand years in the making.

More after the jump.

But in fact, it’s only been two years since Architecture in Helsinki’s last release (In Case We Die, 2005). In that time, the band has truly evolved into a completely new creature. The absence of former members Isobel Knowles and Tara Shackell has gutted the horn section, and without their sweet voices beefing things up (not a contradiction in the slightest), a few songs sound anorexic to my ears. But there is still the frenetic stage activity, the sharing and swapping of instruments that turns their live show into a fascinating science, and the excitement of new songs mingled with the utter genius of old songs (such as “Maybe You Can Owe Me”) that sends a shiver through your own prehistoric bones and makes you believe that evolution will work magnificently for Architecture in Helsinki, just as it has for so many other species.

Places Like This, Architecture in Helsinki’s latest album, is released in August.

[*sarahana's note: she means what's commonly referred to as "bridge and tunnel"]

Tags: architecture in helsinki