Brightest Young Things

Describing music has become one of the most ungrateful tasks in the world: these days when faced with a new band that uses a couple of backslashes to describe their genre melding ways you inevitably end up using phrases like "everything but the kitchen sink" and "eclectic" and "organized chaos" and other words everyone has heard a million times and is pre-prepared to roll their eyes at almost instantly.
You may just give up.
But then a band like Ava Luna comes along and they're playing a house show this very night (Friday) with some of your favorite musicians in DC, and you were just going to do a little post on them but everyone ends up deciding that "really, they're really quite good" (almost surprised) and next thing you know, it is a feature and you should tell everyone why it is one.

For one, lets start with those backslashes (eye roll):
While their myspace will lead you to believe that they're post-punk/pop/electro (eye roll) you could say they're selling themselves short. With 3 capable women (Felicia Douglass, Silheun Song and Becca Kauffman, all pretty and winsome too, and just waiting to be plucked out and put into a photo shoot for Black Book or something) on the vocals (so very rarely do these "organized chaos" bands (eye roll) have truly capable vocals, so when they do, you have to sit up and notice) the music becomes a little more jazzy and doo-woppy at times, elevating it from the usual post-punk lo-fi herd. Heralding is the male vocal Carlos Hernandez, who, I hear, is a son of a Soul DJ and obviously has much to do with the funk and soul you sometimes feel emanating through the cracks. And then we come to the cracks: all that vocal glory mashes up with the kind of music we have no choice but to classify here as "no wave" or "industrial" (at times) (eye roll).

This is a brave move and sometimes it pays off, melding the best of both worlds, but sometimes, just as you're settling into a nice groove and are ready to relax, the hodge podge effect comes into play and you have to step back and rethink everything you thought about that song you were just starting to tap your fingers on the table ever so easily to.

Its like getting into a relationship with a brilliant, great looking but volatile person. You never know what you'll get, but you have such a mad crush on them, you're willing to stick it out.
But, as they say, no pain, no gain. Or-no risk, no reward. Or-I don't know. (eye roll) One thing you do know-they don't really sound like anyone else, which in this day and age (no matter how hard everyone tries) is pretty impressive.
Lets see what they do next, but for now, stop by Crab's claw tonight and see what they have to say about the music they already made below:

First of all, every track was recorded and mixed by us in the basement of a Korean Methodist church in Gravesend, Brooklyn (half a mile from Coney Island).

Clips
This song is about ups and downs in a relationship. "Brother Danger" (one of the lyrics) is someone who controls your actions -- later you might regret something you've forgotten doing.

Eight Nine (Won't You Be Mine?)
This song was inspired by very early girl group songs, though of course we can't capture that kind of innocence. I recently read a book that tried to explain the phenomenon of girl groups from a feminist standpoint. I personally consider this song to be kind of scary -- an attack on a woman's agency.

Past the Barbary
In my mind, "barbary" is another word for barber shop. My grandfather is a barber by trade. It doesn't make much sense, it just popped in my head one day. This song is about some asshole.

(Do Me No Wrong) While I Am Gone
This is a song from our older record, "3rd Avenue Island." Otis Redding was a big inspiration for this song. It's about getting fired.

Want more:
Follow AVA LUNA on myspace/facebook etc and check them out @ Crab's Claw tonight (alongside Tosin! True Womanhood! etc).