SXSW Music Review: London’s Close Encounter Club Levitates Babeheaven, Sorry, and Weird Milk

The Close Encounter Club’s mythos rests on its intergalactic brand, and that’s hard to submit to when you’re witnessing their cosmic setlist play on a 15-inch laptop screen from your couch.

Still, the London venue’s SXSW showcase made for an electric Thursday evening, if only due to the roller-coaster tonality of the three acts and the yellow-tinted film aesthetics spliced with live footage.

At only three tracks, opening North London fivepiece Weird Milk reveled in sprightly retro pop. Crooning leads Zach Campbells and Alex Griffiths stretched into vocal molasses on zippy ballad “Honey I’m Around.”

Similarly, follow-up act Babeheaven took advantage of its brief time, albeit with much more sonic patience. Carried by Nancy Anderson’s easy vocal sheen, the UK duo drifted across Jamie Travis’ cloud of synths and hazy guitar strides. What their dream-pop lacked in tempo, it made up for in plush atmosphere.

An expansive, warping choral sample of “What a Wonderful World” marked a stark turn into Sorry, another North London quintet. The headliner of the hour emitted a sullen energy as soon as they hit Close Encounter Club’s string-light-draped stage. Paralleling the sample, opening track “As the Sun Sets” slid into Sorry’s carport: minor keys.

Their grimy experimental rock melds Nineties grunge with electronic distortions and samples which, when paired with the bored cooing of Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen, makes for a mesmerizing brood. Off-kilter saxophone throws an eerie noir into “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” offering a messiness that’s part of their charm.

Besting their dark proclivities, the group softened with “Heather” and another unreleased track. Endearing indie rock pairs well with the singers’ now-thawed vulnerability. Their final stand, “Lies,” found the medium: guitar reverb and hopeful keys jacking up the sulky back-and-forth of the two vocalists.

Sorry’s aloof attitude evades unbearable. It’s genuinely intriguing – enough to make the virtual experience worth the extra hour of screen time.