This past Saturday, a packed house at Iron Horse was treated to not just one, but two stellar release parties in a single evening. Northampton favorites Jamie Kent and The Options and Darlingside headed up the double-headliner bill, with both groups boasting some newly recorded material for eager fans for the first time in a couple years.
Singer-songwriter Kent and his four-piece backing band The Options began the late-night concert around 10 p.m. They were celebrating the release of their sophomore album “Navigation,” the follow-up to 2010’s “Neoteny.” While Kent said “Neoteny” was composed of songs written while he was still in high school and college, “Navigation” represents the tightness and sonic immediacy of a band touring more than 200 dates a year.
“The goal of this record was to fuse this new burst of inspiration and songs with the live energy that we’ve developed touring full time,” said Kent.
Kent and his Options’ hour-plus long set mostly consisted of tunes from the new album, as they busted out nine of “Navigation’s” 11 tracks. While Kent’s southern-drawl-drenched, sing-song vocals and charismatic stage presence took center stage, it was The Options’ powerful musical presence that really showed the surprising stylistic range of material on “Navigation” for what is technically a “singer-songwriter” record. From the earnest country-western-tinged balladeering of “Navigation’s” show-opening title track to the jittery jazz fusion rock of songs like “So Bad,” The Options earned their moniker – these guys are far from a one trick pony.
Numbers like the aforementioned “So Bad” and the similarly swing-on-steroids “Hold On” allowed upright bassist Rhees Williams and drummer Dan Holmes to really let loose, while key-tickler extraordinaire Beau Sasser broke out some absolutely ligament-snapping organ and synth solos. Electric guitarist Killian Karlsson laid back in the cut, diligently and seamlessly switching rhythm styles between dicey funk strokes and reggae struts, while also dusting off his chops over the sweet R&B blues strains of “Fight For This Love.”
On top of airing out pretty much the entirety of the new album, Kent and The Options threw in a few pleasant surprises as well. About midway through the set, they burst into a rousing rendition of the Chuck Berry classic “Maybellene,” and also closed their portion of the show with a kicked-up version of the iconic Cab Calloway jazz-noir hit “Minnie The Moocher,” complete with a corny but cool bass spin from Williams and the full house on backing vocals.
Darlingside took the stage soon after. While their eagerly awaited full-length debut “Pilot Machines” isn’t due until mid-summer, the string-rock quintet has been slowly releasing material from the album two tracks at a time in the form of vinyl singles. On Saturday, they were celebrating the release of their second single of material from the new album, “The Ancestor 7,” which features a-side “The Ancestor” and b-side “The Woods.”
They began their lengthy set with “Good Man,” a crowd favorite from their 2010 “EP 1.” From the first few seconds of Don Mitchell’s effervescent guitar and the trickling mandolin arpeggios of Auyon Mukharji, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands.
Of course, they played the two songs they were releasing that evening. “The Ancestor” was a folk-rock march bolstered by unison vocals and an immediate classic Darlingside hook, while “The Woods” was a galloping, Bloc Party-esque whirlwind complete with lush harmonies and a positively Baroque breakdown.
While they threw a couple of hits from “EP 1” in – the breakbeat-stomp meets classical crescendo of “Malea” and the melancholic swelling ballad “Catbird Seat” – most of the set was dedicated to performing new material. Of particular note was the bittersweet lounge-lizard serenade “My Love,” which featured a rare appearance of cellist and back-up singer Harris Paseltiner on lead vocals, representing a new and refreshing direction for the road-tested five-piece.
In the middle of their set, the group opined on what it was like getting their start as a band playing on the streets of Northampton years ago, and as a special treat brought their acoustic instruments down onto the floor with the audience for a completely unplugged, un-mic’d folked-up version of the Smashing Pumpkins hit “1979.”
They closed their set with “Blow The House Down,” an instant favorite that was featured on their first vinyl single release back in February, and soon after invited Jamie Kent and The Options back out to play one song together to give the show a proper finale. With acoustic guitars, an upright bass and a couple tambourines, both bands joined voices for an intimate cover of “Wagon Wheel” originally by Old Crow Medicine Show and Bob Dylan.
As the audience trickled out into the street, they left with the fresh material of two groups of Northampton’s favorite musical sons.
Dave Coffey can be reached at [email protected].
