Words by Will Orman
The Wrens have all but fallen off the map. They've played only a handful of shows in the last few years and haven't released an album since 2003, sporadically teasing fans with news of recordings and assurances that this year will be the one. Their most recent release, The Meadowlands, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2003--hailed for its memorable hooks, heartfelt lyrics, literacy, and perfect pop sensibility.
They've been around since 1989, and on stage at the Middle East Downstairs this past Saturday, they made frequent reference to their age. "We just turned 21, so how about all of you underage kids with fake IDs buy us drinks?" joked vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Whelan, and later in the set, vocalist and guitarist Charles Bissell corrected Whelan's reference to "the end of the show" as "the end of our lives." They also thanked the crowd for paying to watch their rehearsal, after botching the middle of one new song and starting over.
But for all the disclaimers, The Wrens put on an incredibly energetic and moving show. One of the show's early high points was "This Boy Is Exhausted," which Bissell started off by looping some tuneless strumming and sang over it as guitarist Greg Whelan slid some spacy guitar work over Bissell's singing. For those not particularly acquainted with the band's material, the song seemed much faster, even unrecognizable until the chorus. At the second chorus, however, the whole band suddenly joined in, exploding into the set headfirst and getting the crowd bouncing along with the wordless hook.
Drummer Jerry MacDonald joined Kevin Whelan on the mic for the delicate "The House That Guilt Built," and then the band continued to tear through some of the more forceful songs from The Meadowlands, such as a singalong driven "Per Second Second" and a particularly dynamic rendition of "Everyone Chooses Sides," which started out with crunchy chords punctuated with jagged singular notes, quieted down in the middle, and then roared back up to a solo full of that pointed guitar sound.
Album highlight "Happy" was delivered with impeccable, impassioned vocals, and "I've Made Enough Friends," introduced as a song that the band "used to play upstairs to absolutely no one," featured a lightly discordant but still optimistic-sounding guitar intro and particularly expressive vocals during the chorus.
The band built up and then bounced through "Hopeless," which the crowd had been calling for throughout the show, and Kevin Whelan urged the crowd to howl the last few lines of "This Is Not What You Had Planned" with him for the band's first encore.
They finally closed out their set with "She Sends Kisses," perhaps the most beautiful cut from Meadowlands, featuring Kevin on piano and an intense vocal performance from Bissell, dynamic and full of little vocal riffs. The band started pulling the crowd up on stage as Bissell looped a few chords and walked off, unassumingly, as was the attitude of the whole show.
The band's modesty works well for them; the audience is even more surprised to be blown away by such an unassuming and gracious band. With any luck, The Wrens will have a new album out by the end of the year.
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