A vision of Americana in plaid and stonewashed denim, Local Natives trundle through Camden, all beards and beaming smiles. And they don’t sound too bad either.
Like a hairy barber shop quintet, they harmonise to absolute perfection, purring gorgeously from beneath their impressive moustaches. Living together, writing together, and playing together, these guys are totally in sync: a solid unit of supple, breathy vocals and multi-instrumentation. And, for such an expert and polished sounding foray into music, it’s surprising to learn that none of these choral sensations actually underwent any formal training. Apart from guitarist Ryan Hahn, who admits to a brief encounter with the school choir in his youth.
But with such a strong vocal emphasis to their sound, did they take up instruments as a secondary pursuit? “No, we all started out playing instruments – I was a drummer before taking up the guitar and piano – but then as we matured and grew together we realised that we just all really loved harmonies and melodies,” says percussionist Kelcey. “We’ve been singing together for about six years now so it all came about by being together for so long. I guess it’s an instinctual thing, like a marriage. We’re all on the same page musically.”
So, who wears the trousers in this musical partnership? “We’re all on a completely equal footing. We write together in a very collaborative way, obviously Kelsey and I sing the most but everyone else in the band has a big part to play,” says guitarist Taylor Rice. “Our sound is very communal and evolving, that’s our goal when we play together as a band. We want to have an all encompassing emotional sound.”
This cacophony of soaring harmonies and melodies would resonate beautifully in a church and strangely enough, this is where the band first found fame: they played this year’s SXSW festival in the Central Presbyterian Church, alongside Girls and Grizzly Bear. “That was one of the best venues we’ve ever played in because of the natural reverb: the whole room and atmosphere was totally all absorbing,” gushes Taylor.
And how do they feel about the unavoidable comparison to Fleet Foxes? “We love it, of course we do, but our music’s definitely a lot more energetic,” laughs Taylor.
Remarkably enough, these hirsute young gentlemen all hail from Orange County, California, a place now synonymous with spoilt rich kids and Spring Break. But the characterisation of the eponymous American TV show is far removed from the lives of these shy, unassuming musos. “Of course we go to the beach, but none of us have ever been surfer dudes, in any way whatsoever. We were always the pale, skinny ones cowering behind a rock somewhere in the shade, just playing our guitars,” sighs Kelcey. A touching image, if ever there was one.
But the band have now left the glamour and the glitz of Orange County behind and are currently residing together in a sprawling house in Silver Lake, East LA, where they are the lynchpin of the local music scene. “The community here have really embraced us, it’s amazing,” exclaims Taylor. “There are some really great venues just a few miles from our house and we’ve had two residencies there already this year. Everyone here’s an artist, following their dream.”
So, what is their particular musical vision? “Our songs all try to capture the segment of an emotional energy, and this has many different expanses. We’re not happy or sad, it just always jumps around a lot,” says Taylor. “‘Camera Talk’ is all about my first encounter in Europe travelling with an ex and then later the travelling experiences that I had with the rest of the group. I guess we like to sing about all those euphoric, crazy highs, which are rare but totally worth striving for.”
Well, let the Local Natives take you to a higher plane.
Words by April Welsh
Where: Southern California
What: Soaring multi-vocal harmonies and instrumentation.
Unique Fact? Drummer Kelcey Ayer wrote the track ‘Airplanes’ about his Grandad.
Get 3 songs: ‘Wide Eyes’, ‘Sun Hands’, ‘Stranger Things’
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Get Local Natives’ ‘Camera Talk’ as part of Clash Magazine’s Ones To Watch 2010 download album HERE.
