WAND at Adelaide Hall, Tuesday, November 10. Rating: NNNN
L.A.’s Wand put a twist on the au courant garage-y psych rock formula by adding British Invasion influences to their sound, mostly by way of Cory Hanson’s clean and lilting vocals (vaguely affected with a faux English accent). The Rickenbacker guitars in use at Adelaide Hall also upped the jangle quotient.
The musically restless four-piece has the ability to sound like several different acts from song to song, but a penchant for juxtaposing sparkling melodies and lean leads with satisfying sludge, improvised noise and near-metal heaviness was the constant. Throughout the hour-plus set at the pristine-sounding venue, they were unafraid to chart their own course, cherry-picking from their three albums (two of which came out this year), throwing synths into the guitar-heavy mix mostly during songs from their new 1000 Days, and bringing things down, down, down as often as up.
As supremely talented as Hanson is, Wand’s secret weapon is drummer Evan Burrows, who dazzled with his precision, dynamism and artfulness. Where would he take the song next, you wondered constantly.
carlag@nowtoronto.com | @carlagillis
