You know that fantastic “indie” band your ironically mustachioed friend that always seems to be clad in plaid keeps telling you to listen to? Northpilot could have very well been one of those musical recommendations that you ignored. Most of the time that’s not a mistake because the bands regularly sound the same and get classified as indie for the sake of being indie. In the case of Northpilot though, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.
Northpilot isn’t indie for the sake of being indie. They’re indie because the eclectic blend of percussive noise layered with ambient and explosive strings and topped with emotive and soothing vocals just doesn’t appropriately occupy any other area in the musical landscape. Equal parts polished rock outfit and gritty emotional melody, Northpilot is a musical love letter penned with guitars and personal experiences. An intricately layered sonic equation that doesn’t require a degree in advanced calculus to decode. In other words, it’s complex without being confusing.
Most importantly though, Northpilot is poignant while still being fun. You can just as easily get lost in the grandiose drums as you can hanging on every lyric that falls out of Travis Shaver’s mouth (trust me, you will dwell on them). What we’re left with is a sound that’s just as good with bombastic percussion and horns as it is with a more stripped down acoustic presentation. It’s musical Choose Your Own Adventure with Northpilot providing some assistance in the imagination department.
[Note: This show is part of a three part series featuring artists from Left Field Management. Thanks to everyone from Left Field Management and Lincoln Hall for putting on a great night of music.]
