The Naked and Famous @ Lincoln Theatre - 11/16/2016
The Naked and Famous have been known for their fist-in-the-air, 80s new wave-tinged anthems since their 2011 hit single, “Young Blood”. Their latest album, Simple Forms, doubles down on that sound to impressive results. They last played in the DC area this past spring at the more intimate Rock & Roll Hotel to try out some new songs, but with a new album out, they sold out the Lincoln Theatre on their return trip for a night of loud and triumphant music.
The New Zealand band’s songs feature powerful choruses that can lift people’s spirits as they sing along, and part of the reason for that is due to singer Alisa Xayalith. Her vocal performance was nearly flawless. For someone that spends years singing at such high octaves, her voice rang through the room clearer than ever. She didn’t miss a beat on songs like “Higher” and “Young Blood”, even as fans screamed their lungs out trying to reach her vocal heights. Guitarist Thom Powers brought an army of pedals that allowed him to weave around the vocals at times and become the focal point at others, like when he turns the flanger up to 11 for “Hearts Like Ours”. The band didn’t speak much in-between songs, but they didn’t need to - the emotion and energy they put into their songs spoke for itself.
The Naked and Famous's Alisa Xayalith at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC - 11/26/16 (photo by Mauricio Castro/@TheMauricio)
As strong as their set was, they saved their best for last. Performing a reworked version of debut album track “No Way”, they did away with the big electronic sounds that permeated a majority of the song and opted for a slow, quiet burn that culminated in a classic big rock moment. Hearing the quiet combination of Powers’s acoustic guitar with a delay-soaked electric guitar as smoke machines shrouded the band in silhouettes made for a very serene moment. But once the loud electric guitars and drums kicked in for the final minute of the song, the crowd erupted in cheers. It’s those kinds of moments that The Naked and Famous are known for - they can make fans feel like they’re in a moment bigger than the room they’re in.
Opening first for The Naked and Famous was The Chain Gang of 1974, whose song “Sleepwalking” made waves in 2014. Singer Kamtin Mohager has frontman swagger in spades, furiously headbanging along to his band’s music and giving a passionate vocal performance. New tracks like “I Still Wonder” and “Slow” are very positive signs for his as-yet-untitled sophomore album, which will be released in 2017.
Brother-and-sister duo XYLØ performed afterwards, and their dark pop music is only just starting to make waves, starting with a self-released track that gained traction on Hype Machine in 2015 and recently being featured in The Chainsmokers’ latest single, “Setting Fires”. Singer Paige Duddy had an equally assured and confident presence on stage, especially on tracks “Afterlife” and “America”. Their debut EP, America, was released in February and are currently working on their debut album.
