Ava Luna: 29 Sept. 2011 – New York

Brooklyn based seven-piece Ava Luna played an early show at Mercury Lounge Thursday night, fresh-off their brief September tour with Toro y Moi. They played a few new songs that embraced the group’s frequent asymmetrical song structure. However it was seasoned titles like “Clips” and “Past the Barbary” that shined. Both are brilliantly cohesive forms of their idiosyncratic juxtapositions: fluid, doo-wop harmonies with intense, industrial drums, bass, and synth. The spacing of the beat, at times, can feel incrementally longer, weighing down songs with weightless vocals. A strange push-and-pull feeling ensues. When blessed with an attentive sound-man who can balance their contrasting sounds, Ava Luna is an especially strong group — one that finally seems to be getting the attention it deserves.