San Fermin

(Downtown)

San Fermin joyously toys with balance and incongruity. Debut project from Brooklyn composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone, San Fermin seems more an exploration of intricately paralleled perspectives than a coherent octet, yet the result enthralls through layered arrangements that burst between electro-pop frenzy and dramatic, swooning orchestration. Brought to realization behind the countering vocals of Allen Tate and Lucius duo Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, Ludwig-Leone’s compositions remain compelling as the alternating leads wind into an eventual tourniquet together. Tate’s low croon hearkens the National’s Matt Berninger with corresponding melancholy, while Wolfe and Laessig trill high harmonies into chaotic eruptions. Their “Crueler Kind” and “Sonsick” move from sparse beats into Sufjan-esque, horn-laced choruses, leaping in revolt from Tate’s moody, plodding “Casanova” and “Daedalus (What We Have).” Trilogy centerpiece “Methuselah,” “At Sea,” and “Torero” edge into the atonal clang of “At Night, True Love,” which jars most dramatically. An ornate, ambitious debut. (9pm, Latitude 30)

This article appears in March 14 • 2014.

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Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.