Milagres: 30 September 2011 – New York

Milagres is on tour supporting their second release, Glowing Mouth, a collection that finds an ethereal path away from their more earthbound, Coldplay inspired debut, Seven Summits. Singer/songwriter Kyle Wilson wrote these new songs while recovering from a serious climbing accident. Their dreamy diversion provided a welcome addition to the band’s catalogue as they now deviate from the standard rock format. These new lush soundscapes, with layered percussion and vocals, make for a rewarding listen session whether live or otherwise. The title track, “Glowing Mouth”, was picked as a KEXP “Song of the Day” recently and the entire album has been in WFUV’s “The Alternate Side” top twenty most-played albums chart for weeks, so there was much anticipation to see this band take to the stage.

On September 30th, Milagres focused on this new release for a full crowd filing in early at The Mercury Lounge. There was the requisite plaid and facial hair of any Brooklyn band, but Milagres has been around enough to know how to put on a solid show and all it entails, including even quickly getting to the merch table to greet fans afterwards. Beginning with the upbeat “Here to Stay” the group kicked into full gear, swirling music around with Wilson playing guitar center stage. The rest of the band includes Steve Leventhal on drums, Fraser McCulloch on bass/vocals, Chris Brasee on keyboards and Eric Schwortz also on guitar/vocals. Next up was the climbing chorus of “Gone”, building with intensity and volume to fill the space. The poetic storytelling of “Gentle Beast” began with Wilson setting the scene.

Loved a girl when I was twelve / From a book everything’s in / I tore wide ruled pages in pen

and I saved each note in an old box / so one day I could read them again. /

But I’ll never feel the way that I felt.

Afterwards Wilson acknowledged the crowd by saying, “You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for being here”. The band quickly continued, offering up “Lost in the Dark”, “Halfway”, and “To be Imagined” along with an older song, “Quiet Street”. “Halfway” has also received airplay; its three-part harmonies repeat the longing in the chorus, I could be halfway from anyone. With cheers of recognition during the onset, the single “Glowing Mouth” brought the set to conclusion with Wilson’s falsetto reached new heights – calling out while still hovering above the band. The measured studio version became a loosely shared journey, as the audience replied in encouragement. Milagres is continuing on tour through the end of October, with dates available here.