Strange Familia at Lost Lake on 7/30/18
All Photos and Review by Somer Dice
Strange Familia played their debut album “New Girl” at Lost Lake on Monday, July 30th at 10 pm. As the love child of Alabama Shakes and Bon Iver, this hipster / new age duo is on their way to fitting right in with The Moth & The Flame, and The Lumineers on the alt/indie/art rock stage.
A dedicated audience paid due attention to the pair as they took the stage, chatted about each song, and gave a full-hearted performance. The noticeably-bearded Garret and slender beardless Brecken offered up some personal tidbits that contextualized some songs: a girlfriend in Afghanistan, a childhood involved in Mormonism, and the oh-so-relatable: when people give bad life advice. Without missing a beat, the audience chimed in when Brecken lost his words for a cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison’ and after a thank you he admitted, “maybe a few too many gin and tonics”. (Haven’t we all?)
Their love for music and support for each other shined through in their emphatic performance of ‘New Girl’, ‘Ms. Badblood’, ‘Love/Drugs’, ‘Red Lipstick’, ‘Cheap Perfume’, and my personal favorite, ‘Odes’. All of these and Garret’s description of how New Girl came to be, can be found on the Strange Familia blog. Garret admits to “spending a lot of time” with the lyrics and it shows in their effortless execution of each song with album-like precision.
If you’re looking for your end of summer jams, these could be them. Old and newly-acquired fans started singing along quickly and even lined up for band merchandise after the show.
BabyBaby kicked off the night with some soft Feist-like vocals and synthesizer beats, laying a good foundation for Strange Familia to shake the house. Garret Williams and Brecken Jones (named after our very own Breckenridge, CO) are from Salt Lake City, UT and are continuing their shows eastward in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and D.C.
