Greek quartet Keep Shelly in Athens played at the Brighton Music Hall last week to a small but enthusiastic crowd. The opening act, a Brooklyn quartet called Body Language, got the crowd warmed up with their up−tempo, occasionally eccentric electronic tunes. Using xylophones and various types of drumsticks, Body Language had the crowd dancing maniacally on the rather empty dancefloor.
Though the crowd actually thinned out once Body Language finished their set, Keep Shelly in Athens came on at 11 p.m. to play its trademark electropop songs, which have been classified as chillwave or dreamy. Keep Shelly's is the type of music that begs to be listened to on the beach or late at night when it's raining.
While there were only about 30 people who stayed to watch the main act, that group seemed largely comprised of longtime and loyal fans. Keep Shelly in Athens got its name from a suburb in Athens called Kypseli. This geographical inspiration comes through in one of the band's first songs, "FokionosNegri Street," which is named after a street in Kypseli.
Frontwoman Sarah P is the only member who spoke and made eye contact with the crowd during Keep Shelly's entire set. The other three members kept their heads down and focused on their guitar, synthesizer and drum playing.
Sarah P introduced the band briefly: "Hello there, we're Keep Shelly in Athens, let's get it started." With that, the band plunged into one of its most popular songs, "Cremona Memories," an '80s−styled tune featuring elements of '90s soul and R&B.
The band is currently touring to promote its first EP, "Our Own Dream," which was released this August. In addition, Keep Shelly also has a large back catalogue of crowd−pleasing songs. The title track, "Our Own Dream," is a trippy amalgam of electronic beeps, Sarah P's haunting vocals, and a dash of nostalgia. Keep Shelly in Athens has perfected the art of using synthesizers to evoke an almost melancholy wistfulness.
One problem with the band's music is that it is so electronic−based. This stops Keep Shelly from improvising during its live show because each member is forced to stick to the script. As a result, it seemed as though the audience was listening to a recording rather than attending a live performance.
A few songs stuck out like sore thumbs during the show. On songs like "A Tear in My i," Sarah P's voice sounded harsher live than it did in its recordings, in which a smooth and soulful saxophone softened any rough edges. In contrast, the somewhat unfittingly named "Song to Cheer You Up" translated better to the live performance. However, due to its relaxing nature, a more suitable title might have been "Song to Listen to While Drinking Red Wine on a Cold Night."
The band finished with a remix they produced of "Tip Of Your Tongue" by Porcelain Raft — a surprising choice, due to the less electronic nature of the track. The song definitely lifted the audience out of its relaxed stupor — it didn't hurt that the beat kicked in at a volume that was at least three notches higher than any of the concert's previous songs.
Regardless of the small size of the crowd, the cries for an encore indicated that those in attendance were genuine fans. The band's farewell consisted of a quiet "Let's bounce" from Sarah P and a long round of applause from the dedicated audience. Keep Shelly in Athens is a band on the verge of making it big, and their mashing of jazz, soul, disco and electro definitely has a place in today's music industry.
