Ugly Orange showcases Detroit's Hala, L.A.'s Boyo and local songbird Lexi Long

THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
Hala, Boyo and Lexi Long, Will’s Pub, July 2

From their recent clip of shows, it seems that pacesetting local promotions group Ugly Orange are back up to full speed.
Their latest production brought the Orlando debut of Hala, the music moniker of 21-year-old Detroit babyface Ian Ruhala. With a quartet to fully stroke the songs of his bedroom recording project, his lo-fi guitar pop beamed with a step and breath that’s pure and bright.
At its best, like on new single “Sorry,” Hala’s music is a joyful romp of melody, economy and rock & roll that can score perfection. And onstage, he showed glimpses of some guitar slinging that he’s been keeping in his back pocket.
Sharing the marquee was Boyo, the vehicle for L.A. musician Robert Tilden whose new single (“Take Me Away”) features Dent May.
With just a trio and a notable prowess with sonics, he and his band came on warm and full, rendering indie pop on a dream wave with occasional zephyrs of soul blowing through. The result was lushly intimate and very accomplished.
Opening the night was Lexi Long, a solo Orlando indie artist who’s currently featured as our Band of the Week.
Though they have their own tonal individualities, she occupies a similar frequency as local exemplar Zoya Zafar. Long, however, sings with a lighter air and expresses in a more overtly folk language. Although not a finished product, this indie bird has a lovely sound with lots of natural promise.
Like most singer-songwriters, she played the usual acoustic guitar. But things took a quantum leap when she eventually picked up the autoharp.
It didn’t occur until the end of her set and lasted for only two songs, but that accompaniment distinguishes her sound into a thing of true enchantment. If her autoharp playing was a cornerstone of her performance rather than just a footnote, she’d be onto something immediately special.
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