One of the early Columbus acts I had the pleasure of covering with this blog was The Lost Revival. So, as you can imagine, I thought the demise of the band was premature and kind of a bummer! I approached frontman Kevin Collins at the band’s farewell show and asked about his future as a musician, trying not to sound too desperate. He assured me that he and his wife Kelly were going to stay in the game one way or another, and likewise I assured him that I’d be willing to help promote whatever was coming down the pike.

This was a gutsy move, maybe. Agreeing to promote music I had never heard nor even knew what ballpark it would fall in sound wise? Hmm. I never really doubted the ashes of the Lost Revival would end up in a right place but in hindsight, all I knew of Kevin and Kelly was one sound.

I’m happy to report that their talent is alive in and well and is being channeled in a fresh and engaging way in the form of new quintet Paper Waves. The duo I knew from before, coupled with former members of Monolithic Cloud Parade, took the stage in Rumba Cafe for a late night extravaganza of sonic adventure that was simultaneously accessible and outside the box. I’ll admit I’ve had a weakness for that bubble of alternative electronic rock in the vein of Future Islands, CHVRCHES and many more in recent months. But Paper Waves shows a lot of promise. Kelly returns with the saxophone, which could easily be dismissed with a thought of “well, she’s just playing sax in the band because she’s Kevin’s wife and there’d be hell to pay otherwise.” WRONG. I watched her tiny frame hunch over an electric harp and synth pad (feel free to throw the correct terminology my way) and harmonize into a specially equipped mic. Kevin was his usual charismatic self, moving about the stage with hands fluttering for dramatic flair. One thing that was interesting was seeing Corey Fry, Kevin Collins, and Damien Pyles switch back and forth between instrument duties. I had no clue Kevin played bass, though it isn’t a surprise I guess. Sadly, Monolithic Cloud Parade is a bit before my time (as far as my attention to the Columbus scene goes) so I’m not able to draw comparisons between the old and new, but I can discern that this synergy is the right move!

The tunes themselves were ethereal yet communicated an accessible party vibe that was meant to make people dance. I’m more than ok with Columbus having a new band to encourage this in its scene.

Domes, the psychedelic project of Ben Ahlteen and Chris Cheeseman (ex-Lost Revival) provided the evening’s direct support which was everything the crowd expected out of them. Ahlteen wryly narrated the set in reverse order, quipping near the end “maybe we’ll just soundcheck after.” A shirtless Cheeseman drummed on point when he wasn’t executing improvised fills from excitement between tunes. Vocal distortion and groovy bass lines formed an interesting juxtaposition in song structures that ranged from balladry to outright onslaughts of noise rock.

Fine Animal, a new (to me) band, opened the evening. The trio kept me occupied with some refreshing chillwave, a train I’ve been happy to ride since last year’s release of “Paracosm” from Washed Out. Though at times drummer KC Wilder struggled to keep up with the time signature changes and complicated fills on his electronic kit, this was a small distraction in an otherwise very compelling set. The effects were mixed into the set perfectly (compliments to FOH guy Chris Montooth for his attention to this detail). Keyboardist Lucy Oaks and guitarist Kelan Gilbert shared vocal duties, demonstrating an aptitude for the less-is-more approach to performing. I’m interested to hear more, for sure.

Oh, and one last thing – the end of Domes’ set the stage transformed into a brief Lost Revival reunion with a rousing performance of “King of Electricity.” That was pretty awesome.