Maria Somerville concluded her five-week tour, which included the singer’s first U.S. jaunt, on Saturday, May 24 at Zebulon in L.A. (Pic: Liz O.)
On Saturday, May 24, Maria Somerville closed out a five week tour, which included her first U.S. jaunt, at Zebulon in Los Angeles. Playing with a full band, the Irish musician transformed the sublime, often atmospheric, sound of her two albums into a shoegaze blowout. It was loud and cathartic and I’m really glad that Zebulon keeps a bowl of earplugs near its entrance.
I grabbed a spot right in front of the bassist’s zone on stage, next to some dudes who were investigating the pedals. (I told you this was a shoegaze show!) A hodgepodge of tunes played as the small, Frogtown venue filled with people. Hearing “French Disko,” the Stereolab song, was an appropriate way to prepare for the show that was about to start. I noticed a My Bloody Valentine t-shirt in the crowd too, which was both completely expected and probably a bit of foreshadowing.
Bird songs open Luster, the sophomore album from Maria Somerville and her debut full-length with venerable indie label 4AD. Their chirps, taken from a field recording at the singer/producer’s home in Connemara, Ireland, slowly give away to a kind of ethereal ambience with Róisín Berkeley on harp and Henry Earnest on guitar.
Somerville, who also hosts “The Early Bird Show” on NTS, self-released her debut album, All My People. In between the two albums, she moved from Dublin back to her hometown. “It’s grounding and expansive there, and gives me spaciousness, which maybe subconsciously shapes how I make music,” she says of the move in an email interview.
