I think you can see the lead singer’s head if you squint really hard.
First of all, I apologize for probably the single-handed worst picture ever taken for a concert review. It’s awful, and I apologize profusely. I was sick Wednesday night, and while I shouldn’t have gone out in public infecting people with my germs, I really wanted to check out MS MR, the new “it” band of the moment, or whatever you want to call that.
Perhaps it was the sickness, and my general mood of discomfort going into the sweaty Wrongbar, but I did not enjoy their set at all. Lead singer Lizzy Plapinger has a great voice, when she’s into what she’s singing, her voice comes out strong, clear and has the tinges of some jazz and R&B to it. The music just doesn’t seem to match up to the vocals. After their set I read the record review on Pitchfork, where they talked about how they made this album to accompany a visual project and it was all incredibly well planned out on Tumblr before the album was even made. While I think incorporating audio and visual together can make for a great art project, if you’re going to tour the record, it better be strong enough to stand on its own if you’re not bringing the visuals with you. In my opinion, it was not.
While the band’s attitudes were positive, and the stage presence was there, it just didn’t hook me the way other bands can live.
Best song: Think of You – a break up song where her emotions shine through in the lyrics “You got high off my devotion/I was addicted to your touch/I still think of you and all the shit you put me through”
Positives: her lyrics are particularly strong (as a woman who can appreciate a good break up song, I dig it).
All in all, they show a ton of promise for the future, and I look forward to their sophomore effort or seeing them again when I’m not already hating the world and wishing for my bed.