George Lewis Jr.’s project Twin Shadow presents the best of two worlds—that smooth world of late 70s/early 80s new wave R&B and the more contemporary world of indie synth pop. Confess, the newest record from Lewis, dropped this summer before it, rightfully and immediately, began garnering high praise. Twin Shadow’s show at the Mohawk Friday proved an accurate recreation of the album’s outstanding beats and Lewis’s soulful croon. Some in attendance might assert that Lewis wants to be Prince, while a more extreme point of view might very well swear Lewis is a biological progeny, no matter what DNA tests prove.
Lewis kicked off the set with “Golden Light” in all of its glowing glory, built around skittering drums and swelling synths. Stage banter occupied little time during the set, with Lewis favoring letting the music speak for itself. He did pause a few times to lightheartedly poke fun at Texas, Austin, and Houston, but ultimately paid homage to Austin’s laid-back attitude. Apparently, we give off the back that we’re just into free love and sex, since Lewis raised a glass to Austin being perpetually “balls deep”—that’s a compliment, right?
The crowd went nuts for Twin Shadows infectious single “Five Seconds” before Lewis closed out the night with “Slow,” the hit single from his first record, Forget. For the encore, Lewis gave the crowd one, more intimate solo song before welcoming the band back to bring the house down in an all out dance frenzy. Selling out back to back nights at the Mohawk deserves commendation, but Lewis is no stranger to acclaim after delivering two records that rank among the best of their respective years.
Earlier in the night, Niki and the Dove performed an intricate and musically complex set of careful electonic pop music. For an almost brand new band whose debut album dropped in May of this year, the Swedish duo had an amazingly large percentage of the crowd chanting, smiling, and dancing along with their songs. I was expected good things from the duo, but found myself even more pleased than anticipated. All in all, Mohawk was the place to be both Friday and Saturday night this week, to catch these two outstanding synth pop acts.
All photos by Bryan Parker. Click any thumbnail to open set in slideshow view.
