Akron/Family

It often feels like you get two shows for the price of one when you see experimental Ohio rockers Akron/Family live in concert. Part noise rock group, part harmonic folk act – there’s a lot going on and it’s never, ever dull. When not acting as the intense and rowdily rhythmic backing band for Swans’ Michael Gira’s Angels of Light, Akron/Family can be found pushing the boundaries of psych rock through a series of wonderfully involving albums like Love Is Simple, Set ‘Em Wild Set ‘Em Free and most recent record, the rumbling and hypnotic Sub Verses.
Gira described the three core members as Dana Janssen, Seth Olinsky, and Miles Seaton thus: “There are no inverted commas in the world of AK. They’re inside the music, grinding it, fighting it, chewing it, digesting it, then spewing it up to the sky in a multicoloured spray of endless sound and love.” That’s what it sounds like to experience the band live: you’ll get the glorious harmonies of ‘Love Is Simple’ which makes AK sound like The Band, and then the pounding, relentless drumming of ‘No-Room’ will take you somewhere altogether more cosmic as guitars explode across the stage – well, when all the members aren’t deep into a percussive groove. If you get to experience Akron/Family in a small club it’s something you’ll remember for a long time, such is the incredible intensity of the band’s performance.