Mistle Thrush – at the Paradise – Review

Mistle Thrush

at the Paradise
by Amy Lordan

In a more perfect world, Mistle Thrush would be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Unlike most bands found on the Top 40 charts and MTV, Mistle Thrush is not afraid to cross stylistic boundaries, as they demonstrated in their strongly diverse set at the Paradise.

While waiting for the band to set up, vocalist Valerie Forgione sang an impromptu gospel piece, with guitarist Scott Patalano accompanying her towards the end. The full band then went on to play “Escapes in Glass,” a somewhat ethereal pop song from their EP, Augus Amarach. Most of the set shared the same airy quality, yet veered off with the country sound of “Overpass” and “Red Caboose.” Forgione’s emotionally-charged voice on “Overpass” gave me goose bumps.

“Moth Like,” featuring guitarist Matt Kattman on backing vocals, was an interesting addition. His “do do dos,” along with Forgione’s vocals, reminded me of both My Bloody Valentine and Velocity Girl.

In definite contrast to poppy songs such as “Moth Like” and “Flower-Eyed,” Mistle Thrush ended their regular set with the new songs “Sha Sha” and “Beyond Reach” (available on the Soon compilation). “Sha Sha” began ever so quietly and delicately, but came crashing down with a wall of guitars at the end. The dreamy “Beyond Reach,” with Forgione’s soaring vocals, was a beautiful closing song and left the audience wanting more. Despite shouts for “Six Hour Monday,” Mistle Thrush chose to play “Cicada,” from Silt. They quickly shifted into an upbeat Buzzcocks cover, once again proving their diversity.