THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
Reverist EP release with Daniel Jude and En Limbo, Will’s Pub, Oct. 11
Does the world need another light indie-pop group? Probably not. But pop music’s common denominator sure would be a lot higher if its baseline quality could match the soaring songs of Reverist.
This kind of music is not exceptional. With its omnipresence on not just the airwaves but in our commercials, it’s probably too common. But however mildly pleasant, much of it’s just a glittery void. And though there are plenty of bands out there like Reverist, some rather famous, there are few that make melodies quite as grabbing as theirs.
The Orlando band have finally followed up their 2015 debut EP Dreaming Onward with the just-released Genetic March EP. Like their first record, this one beams with the kind of jubilant immediacy that makes their music so ideal for lifestyle soundtracking. It’s no wonder then that Reverist has many sync licensing deals going right now. And the fact that their music has actually gotten onto TV spots makes them perhaps one of the more tangibly – albeit quietly – accomplished acts in the city right now.
But all this aside, there’s an open and sparkling shine in their songs that is guileless and far more natural than their hack contemporaries. And they celebrated their new work by rendering it live with craft and in full color with a solid quartet, the biggest lineup I’ve seen of Reverist yet.
Speaking of something we don’t need more of, Titusville pop-rocker Daniel Jude is a fashion model musician. I really only mention it because he does on his website’s bio. Now the only people that fact will impress are in it for the wrong reasons. But OK, whatever.
Musically, he and his band were reasonably competent, if a little canned and unseasoned. Far more impressive than all that was the excessive pro light rig that they brought. That display-first-musicianship-second spectacle there is probably the biggest tell about the intent, aspiration and sensibility of this act.
Local opener En Limbo are a decent live ensemble. But their affable indie rock attempts to span so much ground between their various interests that it winds up busy and indeterminate. It’s music that’s done by players who don’t need practice so much as some soul-searching.
Follow Bao on Twitter (@baolehuu)
Email Bao: baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com
Related Stories
Orlando’s Reverist returns with a new look, new album and new synthwave sounds
This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2018.
