LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: Aquilo, Yoke Lore @ The Sinclair 10.03.17

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English dream pop duo Aquilo kicked off their US tour last night off with a headline show at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA. The band was formed in 2013 by musicians Ben Fletcher and Tom Higham, two childhood friends who had previously performed in rivaling bands before coming together as Aquilo.

After generating a buzz with several singles and EP’s, the pair released their debut full-length record, “Silhouettes” in January of 2017. The album was met with positive reception from critics in both the UK and the in North America with Canadian music outlet Exclaim! declaring: “Aquilo captivate most when they vary the tempo and instrumentation within their songs, and they do it often enough to make Silhouettes a strong debut overall.” The album also received significant play on Spotify where two of the album’s four singles have already passed 10 million streams.

On Tuesday night the duo, who is now touring as a four-piece graced the stage at the Sinclair with a hauntingly beautiful set of music that was transcendent, leaving the crowd in awe. It was one of those nights – they happen sometimes when you attend a lot of concerts – after you get into a rhythm of seeing similar shows, all of a sudden a lot of them run together. But then you experience a night like Tuesday night where an artist stuns you, just makes you stop dead in your tracks in say “this is something special” that’s the kind of night Aquilo provided the Cambridge crowd.

Being the first show of a new tour, the night would see multiple songs being played for the first time, including “Complication,” “Blindside,” and “Low Light.” Those in attendance would even get to see a brand new, previously unreleased song, titled “Thin” not only played live for the first time, but heard by anyone outside the band for the first time.

By the end of the 17 song set, the room was so quiet between songs, you could hear a pin drop, the audience was hanging on every lyric, mesmerized by a band with talents that are not often seen, certainly not on a Tuesday night in an intimate club venue. For the band’s one song encore, they played what most would consider their most successful song to date, a song titled “Silhouette” – an astonishingly beautiful piano ballad that will invoke memories of the 2013 hit “Say Something” by A Great Big World but with a little more grandiosity. Tom Higham, who does the lead vocals on “Silhouette” has the voice of a genuine icon, a Sam Smith type of voice. It’s the kind of voice you could get used to hearing all over the airwaves and you may just have to soon enough.

Opening the show was banjo-pop – yes banjo-pop – duo Yoke Lore, the group is fronted by Adrian Galvin who was originally a member of Walk the Moon combines thick drum beats with pop vocals and folk-inspired banjo instrumentals. It’s a little bit like what would have happened if the members of Twenty One Pilots grew up in the deep south. Their set was a stellar pre-cursor to Aquilo’s as they too, managed to capture the attention of the crowd so well that the usual between songs banter you hear from the crowd was non-existent.

Aquilo/Yoke Lore upcoming tour dates:

10/04 — Philadelphia, PA — The Foundry

10/05 — Washington, DC — Rock & Roll Hall

10/06 — New York, NY — Music Hall Of Williamsburg

10/07 — Toronto, OR — Horseshoe Tavern

10/09 — Columbus, OH — A&R Music Bar

10/10 — Chicago, IL — Lincoln Hall

10/11 — Minneapolis, MN — 7th Street Entry

10/13 — San Francisco, CA — The Chapel

10/16 — Los Angeles, CA — El Rey Theatre

Photos – Aquilo, Yoke Lore @ The Sinclair – 10.03.17:

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