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Live review: Local Natives highly affecting in L.A.

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Local Natives’ Taylor Rice at El Rey, the group’s second L.A. gig this week. Photo: David Hall, for the Register

Wearing a half-sheepish, half-elated grin and holding a posture that betrayed exhaustion, Local Natives vocalist/guitarist Taylor Rice (the one with the excellent ‘stache) addressed the equally exuberant capacity crowd near the end of the L.A. outfit’s record release show Tuesday night at El Rey Theatre, an encore to Monday’s gig at the Fonda Theatre and an Amoeba Records in-store appearance earlier in the evening.

“It means so, so, so much that so many of you are here,” Rice gushed. “We’re not going to play many more shows in Los Angeles because of Coachella coming up … we hope to see some of you guys there.”

Wouldn’t be surprised if everyone on hand who managed to snatch up tickets for the fest that morning (both weekends have sold out) will faithfully flock to the group’s  set, a likely candidate to land on the main stage or at least play the Outdoor Theatre due to the Natives’ spike in popularity since 2009 debut Gorilla Manor.

That’s not just because the 11-track follow-up, Hummingbird, is proportionately affecting and technically pristine. It has as much to do with the delivery of this quartet (quintet if you count a new touring bassist). Each time I’ve witnessed them, whether at a festival or inside an intimate venue, they sweep up fans into a raw and symbiotic emotional outpouring, prompting a galvanic reaction akin to a spiritual experience.

A pseudo-religious assessment feels appropriate within the context of new material, as many songs (like the main set’s bookends, opener “You & I” and closer “Bowery”) resonated like devotional, highly personal hymns. Their rhythms and melodies sustained a steady serenity, cresting ever so slightly as Matt Frazier’s kick drum commenced and cued softly executed undulations from the other musicians.

Added to that effect – and most compelling on back-to-back mid-set gems, “Black Spot” and “Colombia” – were often spine-chilling, three-part vocal harmonies from Rice, keyboardist/percussionist Kelcey Ayer and guitarist Ryan Hahn. Together, they emanated a choral euphoria that rivaled a seasoned church ensemble, or at the very least other notable all-male harmonizers like Mumford & Sons and Fleet Foxes.

Local Natives in L.A. the day their second disc, Hummingbird, arrived. Photo: David Hall, for the Register

It’s even more gratifying that the same sort of uplifting litanies serve as backbones for overtly raucous cuts off Gorilla Manor. Whereas Hummingbird’s selections are largely solemn – save for the aggressively kinetic encore-starter, “Wooly Mammoth” – those expertly interwoven vocal patterns proved essential to the all-in crowd response during the driving crunch-and-clack of old favorites such as “Camera Talk” (early on), “Airlanes” (to help round out the main set) and the closing “Sun Hands,” a gospel-grafted rocker.

If anything, it was their innervating voices that gave their albums’ combined material congruency at this gig. Enhancing that was the way they smiled at each other and their fans (adoringly so) between songs, the way they paused to take visibly deep breaths before slower tunes, the way they picked and pounded out every rhythm and chord with meticulous attention, caressing or holding their instruments in death-grips, depending on the feeling.

Not at all an over-produced performance piece. Just four guys translating what they love into satisfying sounds.

Set list: Local Natives at El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, Jan. 29, 2013
Main set: You & I / Breakers / Wide Eyes / Heavy Feet / Ceilings / Camera Talk / Warning Sign (Talking Heads cover) / Black Spot / Colombia / World News / Airplanes / Bowery
Encore: Wooly Mammoth / Who Knows Who Cares / Sun Hands

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