The Human Orchestra: Eclectic Band Wows Crowd at Casbah

Paul Fowler

Last week, fresh off the release of their debut EP Noah, The Human Orchestra headlined a lineup of up-and-coming bands at The Casbah. The Human Orchestra’s mixture of folk-rock, jazzy horns and sugary sweet vocal harmonies creates a sound that is pleasantly hard to pin down.

On Noah, distorted guitars, delicately plucked banjos, trumpet and sax all make an appearance, often during the same song. The tunes on Noah manage to shine through the thin production, revealing a young band with sharp songwriting instincts and lots of potential.

Opening for The Human Orchestra’s live premiere were Buddy Glass, The Human Race and Beams. The night started off on lousy note as a drunken Buddy Glass struggled to keep it together.

Unfortunately, The Human Race offered only a moderate improvement. A one-man band often billed as “prog-folk”, The Human Race abused the increasingly popular technique of looping. He often chose to loop irritating vocal howls, extending his sour sound over several minutes and transforming an otherwise dull performance into a largely unpleasant one.

Luckily, it didn’t take long for Beams to turn things around. A Toronto-based country/folk band, led by banjo, mandolin and smooth vocal harmonies, Beams appeared to be at home on the stage. Instantly memorable melodies and danceable songs provided the energy needed to 4grasp the fading interest of the crowd.

Lead singer Anna Mérnieks’ sunny vocal delivery gave the songs a somewhat playful feel, perfect for a bar show. To the delight of many audience members, Beams also featured a saw player. Although the saw felt slightly gimmicky, especially with its contributions largely buried underneath layers of other instrumentation, it did help emphasize the fun appeal in Beams’ music.

After Beams, The Human Orchestra took the stage, delivering a performance that was easily the highlight of the night. The band opened with a gorgeous a cappella rendition of the gospel song “Down in the River to Pray” before transitioning into one of the strongest tracks off Noah, “Changes Are Coming”.

In addition to a standard rock lineup, The Human Orchestra also incorporated saxophone, trumpet and three female vocalists into their performance, and with upwards of seven band members harmonizing, the vocals sounded amazingly lush. The stunning vocal harmonies that opened the show continued to be a highlight throughout the entire set.

The band tore through the heaviest track in their catalog, “Louisa”, while bursts of distorted guitar and blaring horns punctuated a performance of the otherwise subdued folk song “In the Middle”. The highlight of the set was a hyper-charged rendition of “Newton’s War”, a song with a soaring chorus that wouldn’t sound out of place in an enormous stadium.

For a debut performance, The Human Orchestra were very impressive. The band was tight and well rehearsed, and their expansive sound was even more enjoyable live than on record.

The Human Orchestra’s music can be found online at downloadnoah.com. The band will be playing live at The White House in Hamilton on March 25.