Lower Dens Setlist

Quo Vadis
To Die in L.A.
Propagation
Non Grata
Electric Current
I Am the Earth
Tea Lights
Batman
Your Heart Still Beating
Sucker’s Shangri-La
Company
Société Anonyme
Ondine
Brains
Maneater (Hall & Oates cover)

Tour Dates

07-24 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
07-25 Vancouver, BC – Electric Owl
07-28 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
07-29 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
08-04 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
08-05 Chapel Hill, NC – King’s Barcade

Baltimore’s Lower Dens, lead by singer/guitarist Jana Hunter, recently stopped by the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on Tuesday, July 21st, in support of their latest album Escape from Evil (Ribbon Music).

Opening up the show was Young Ejecta (formerly known as Ejecta), a duo featuring singer Leanne Macomber (from Neon Indian) and producer Joel Ford … although for the tour, I did not see Ford (unless he’s doing background instrumentals).

Young Ejecta’s music is a little synthpop and chillwave, often a slow burn of moody electronic hums and beeps. Macomber would perform with her eyes closed and just singing or doing sign languages with her arms. I got the feeling that she’s in a world of her own, forgetting that she’s playing in front of hundreds of people.

Then she’s back on earth, and asking the audience, “Are you having the best night of your life?”, proceeding to play “Recluse”. Then she lay on the floor for a full minute, before getting back to the microphone to sing some more lyrics.

Macomber did most of her singles, including “Welcome to Love”, and the recent “Into Your Heart”. Most of these songs can be found her their sophomore album The Planet, which came out January 27th, 2015, via Driftless Recordings.

Before officially starting their set, Lower Dens‘ Jana Hunter had to comment about Boston vs Minneapolis accents. Particularly the word “styrofoam”. Then the bassist gave a demonstration of the word, and whatever he said, it sure wasn’t styrofoam.

Then the music started, and would continue until midway when Hunter thanked and name dropped several Minneapolis bands she love, like Dark Dark Dark, Beat Detectives, Anonymous Choir, etc.

Then before their hit song “Société Anonyme”, where normally they would end their set before the encore, Hunter talked about the last time she was in town (solo) with Sharon Van Etten in 2014. She sneaked over to 7th Street Entry, next door, for the Amen Dunes show, and witness a live stage smudging. No one knew what she was talking about, she had to explain that it was like spirit cleansing ritual by Native Americans.

Instead of doing the fake leaving and coming back on stage, Hunter said that they have just been playing “really long sets” instead. They played a few more songs, before ending with their Hall & Oates cover song “Maneater”. She also ended her set with “Maneater” when she played solo last year, and I noted back then, and I’ll stand behind it now, that her version is better because suddenly the pop/upbeat song is now a sad/depressing song.

Lower Dens’ Escape from Evil is out now on Ribbon Music.