Caught in the Carousel

The four-piece band Lost Lander is led by Portland, Oregon-based musician Matt Sheehy: a man whose solo work is sincere, intricate, and beautiful. And, while Sheehy certainly brings these qualities to his newest project, Lost Lander (especially live) also rocks.

The foursome came on stage dressed entirely in white: Patrick Hughes, seating himself behind the drums; Dave Lowensohn, carrying his bass; and Sarah Fennell, standing relaxed behind her keyboard and vocal mic. Sheehy's 335 hung from his shoulder on a rainbow colored strap. They opened with "Your Name is a Fire," the last track on the band's forthcoming album, DRRT (it's out in late January, but they're selling pre-release discs at shows).

Lost Lander

At first, the piece was carried by a steady hi-hat and a busy, textured drum pattern. Sheehy's voice was calm and assertive, repeating the title of the song, turning the phrase into a subtle anthem, and for brief moments he carried his words up into a patient falsetto.

It was not a quiet song—guitar, bass and keys all built in presence—but, as it came to a close, Lowensohn replaced his bass line with syncopated handclaps, concisely augmenting the pulse of the drums. This became one of the most distinctive musical aspects of the show: the band's ability to carry energy and emotion through huge dynamic changes. Hughes moved from ringing toms to the metal edges of his drum kit. Sheehy's acoustic guitar was amplified and run through numerous effects, but it was also plucked and clean on a quiet stage.

Fennell's backing vocals were gorgeous, ethereal on "Wonderful World," mixing with Sheehy's in warm wails and dips on "Cold Feet," and all, of course, sung as she played the delicate electronic lines and string samples that percolate through the band's songs. Even stripped down to four players for touring, Lost Lander's music is built out of a rich palette of digital and analog sounds (strings were recorded live for the album, but according to Sheehy, in order to recreate all of the sonics from the studio, Fennell had to switch out her keyboard's sound bank for each song).

Lost Lander

Mid set, Sheehy asked the crowd if they were ready for a "Boss" song and drove the band into an electrified, almost dark version of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper." Fennell used two cell phones held together to create an eerie, whispering feedback loop that floated over the music.

The set ended with two killers: first, "Cold Feet," an incredible piece that snuck up on me with its energy; it started out at a walking pace, calm—the drum like a soft heartbeat—and, after a wash of vocal tones, became something hopeful and barely contained. Second and last, came "Belly of the Beast/Valentina," which began as pure Northwest pop and grew into a raucous wave of sound, shifting in time and feel, leaving my ears ringing and warm.

Lost Lander will be back on the road in February, after DRRT gets its official release. They're making great music. Definitely check them out.

Further Resources
Web: http://lost-lander.com/
Twitter: @lostlanderband

Important Info:
DRRT isn't coming out until next month, but Mr. Sheehy's excellent Tigerphobia is available for download here: http://sheehy.bandcamp.com/album/tigerphobia. It's a quieter body of work, but it was basically my November soundtrack. Highly recommended.

—Mick Sherer

Joana and the Wolf

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