Smart bets: Wand

Photo by Romain Peutat

The members of Wand divide their recording time between LA and San Francisco, creating “a little life within an elaborate craftwork of sound amongst the endless social contrivances of popular music,” according to the band’s bio. That’s a complex explanation of a complex music that is probably better felt than discussed. Pitchfork took a stab, noting that this year’s release, Golem, is “not a nostalgia-driven record, but you can definitely catch a whiff of David Bowie, T. Rex, and eyeliner-era Brian Eno wafting through the band’s heavy riffs and stoned melodies.”

Talking to Crossfire, frontman Cory Hanson had this to say about the live show: “We don’t really like to play the songs the way they are on our records. For us the records are these things we spent a lot of time making and in order to stay true to the writing process and the kind of spirit of the songs, they have to change within the structure of a performance. It’s a very different space than a recording space.”

Wand performs at The Mothlight Monday, Nov. 16, as part of the venue’s “Free Monday!” series. Local acts Bulgogi and Sarah Louise/Thom Nguyen Duo share the bill. 9 p.m. themothlight.com

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About Alli Marshall
Alli Marshall has lived in Asheville for more than 20 years and loves live music, visual art, fiction and friendly dogs. She is the winner of the 2016 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and the author of the novel "How to Talk to Rockstars," published by Logosophia Books. Follow me @alli_marshall

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