When I saw Bat For Lashes in concert last month, I found myself absolutely blown away by the opening band, Other Lives’.  I kept looking at my sister in awe, saying “They are AMAZING! Who are they?”  They were so powerful, and beautiful, and to be honest, I didn’t want them to stop! I love Bat For Lashes, but I would have been perfectly content with a whole night of Other Lives’.

Their first single off the album, Black Tables – was featured on last night’s Grey’s Anatomy!!!! Awesome!!

Sidenote: I do not, nor have I ever been paid for these reviews…just so you guys know. I see a LOT of shows, and I mention the ones I like – and leave out the ones I don’t. Every once and a while I see a band that I love so much – I just want to share it with all of you.  This is one of those times.

Other Lives‘ was breathtaking. I was completely in awe of their music, and the music completely moved me.  I came home and immediately contacted their rep. They sent me an album which I have listened to – almost exclusively – for the last month or so.  I gave the album to my husband, and told him to give them a listen.  He – in turn – has listened to them more than I have.

Other Lives’ self-titled, full-length debut will be released on April 7th by tbd records, the ATO Records imprint that launched a year ago with the physical release of Radiohead’s In Rainbows. It will be available at digital retailers beginning March 17th and lead single “Black Tables” goes to radio this month. The album (and the EP that preceded it) was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Joey Waronker (the Eels, Lisa Germano) and engineer Darrell Thorp (Radiohead, Outkast, Beck). Released in October 2008, the EP – also self-titled – was featured for three consecutive weeks on iTunes’ “Rising Stars of Indie Rock.”

Based in the college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, the band – Jesse Tabish (lead vocals, piano, guitar, harmonium, organ, vibes, electric harpsichord), Josh Onstott (bass, melotron, backing vocals), Jonathon Mooney (piano, violin, organ, vibes, electric harpsichord), Jenny Hsu (cello, backing vocals) and Colby Owens (drums, lap steel) – has been playing music together for the past five years in various incarnations. They began as an avant-garde instrumental group, then added vocals and eventually evolved into Other Lives.

In a recent feature, Filter hailed the band’s music as “perfect for waking up on a crisp fall Sunday or executing a heartrending breakup in the middle of the night,” going on to note: “If Other Lives was more formulaic or eager to get rich, the five-piece would be in N.Y. or L.A., gloating about impending global success. But that’s not how things are done in Stillwater, Oklahoma…” The landscape informs their music, from the traditional folk elements to the expansive, unhurried nature of their songs. Yet Other Lives owes as much to modern-day classicists such as Jóhann Jóhannsson and Arvo Pärt and British progressive rock as it does to its folk forefathers, drawing from a rich palette that even encompasses traditional Spanish music (“Matador”).

Balancing epic grandeur with quiet restraint, the album evokes characters and civilizations hovering between life and death, majesty and melancholy, hope and despair. “End Of The Year” is a breathtaking tightrope walk between such extremes – a lilting interplay between piano and cello gives way to more somber tones, then comes full circle six minutes in with a transcendent guitar riff over elegant orchestration and drum corps-style percussion. “Paper Cities,” featured as a KCRW “Tune Of The Day,” is a powerful indictment of nationalism, reminding us that the boundaries drawn by war are temporal, “just lines on a map,” while the cautionary “Don’t Let Them” takes to task the powers that be – and those who put them in power, namely us.

Praised by LiveDaily for its “captivating, cinematic sounds,” Other Lives was one of the noteworthy new acts performing at last fall’s CMJ Music Marathon. Upcoming tour plans include a series of dates with Delta Spirit (see below for itinerary) and a stop at SXSW.

Listen to their first single, Black Tables, and tell me they’re not amazing!

otherlives.com
myspace.com/otherlives
facebook.com/otherlives

album available at itunes.com/otherlives/otherlives

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