The Wrens
at The Middle East
by Austin Nash
photo by Rich Rodichok
The Wrens packed the upstairs stage at midnight on a Sunday and the crowd was still there when I left. The live show had an edge like a broken knife blade compared to the excellent but more tame sounding new release Secaucus (Grass). If you’ve listened to The Wrens before, you may have wondered who’s the genius responsible for such melodic and powerful song writing. Seeing them live won’t help you on this. They’re lacking the commonly obvious leadership. I find this surprising in a day when locating a good band is an ill-starred crap shoot. Think of three bands that went big in the ’90s and then say the first person’s name that comes to mind. Nirvana (Cobain), Pearl Jam (Vedder), Lemonheads (Dando). My apologies for the mainstream player references to prove a point, but my point is this: the vast majority of quality, or at least widely accepted acts, are driven by a single idea and force that resists compromise. When a band scores, you can usually pick out a clearly-defined leader generating concept, song structure, and lyrics, and lending personality to the overall tone for the band. Bands who say “we all contribute to the music” allow compromise and lose the clean line. They almost always suck. I was peculiarly distracted to find this mark absent in The Wrens line up.
The Wrens exhibited top-notch professionalism, dynamics of show, including astoundingly breathtaking renditions of the two completely mellow songs on Secaucus, “Won’t Get Too Far,” and the hit “Jane Fakes A Hug.” They show no evidence of any “we-can’t-play-it-live-as-well-as-on-the-album” bullshit.
Great bands are depicted through simple language because words are not necessary. Putting music into words has its inherent disadvantages, which is the principal downfall of reviewing. I consciously avoid comparing bands and trying to analogize the sounds to something familiar unless an obvious similarity slaps me. If you’ve read my bullshit opinions before, you know that I give a tough, objective (I’m hoping the word “objective” keeps me a reviewer and not a critic) review. If this is any indication, you’ll be at the next Wrens show near you. Don’t let the common crap excuses make you miss them. If you know The Wrens are coming to your town, and you have a good sob story as to why you’re too poor to go (and no lying, you cocksuckers, I’ll take you all outside), send it to Lollipop and I’ll send you enough for a ticket and a beer.
