St. Lucia, the latest protégé of HeavyRoc Music wowed at Cameo Gallery’s showcase in a show that featured Howler as headliners.
The band recently signed on a joint-venture deal with Columbia & Neon Gold Records . They’ve had several months to tweak their live set and it included all six tracks from their forthcoming EP and one new track, ‘The Way You Remember Me’.
Front man Jean Phillip Grobler possesses the poise of a seasoned vet, while the other four band members compliment him brilliantly (especially girlfriend and main keyboardist Patricia Beranek). It’s no wonder he wanted to debut under ‘St Lucia’ rather than going the solo route, the music certainly caters to group mechanics.
Opening with the epic ‘We Got It Wrong’, a cacophony of ghostly vocals moved through the foggy synth backdrop. At moments, Jean Phillip’s smooth voice vaguely evoked a much cooler Phil Collins, fueled by powerhouse harmonies (a trio including guitarist Ross Clark & keyboardist Beranek). While the trio could have been slightly louder, the effect was successful in its authority.
The atmospheric fog & affective lighting techniques certainly propelled the sound forward, but there was something in their tight-knit presence (& in drummer Nick Brown’s tenacity) that got the entire audience dancing by the end. It also doesn’t hurt that most every St. Lucia melody is perfectly contagious and compact.
In the fan-favorite ‘All Eyes On You’, Jean Phillip repeats the line, “I hope that you’ll never have to take back / what you said in the night / I hope that I’ll always have / All eyes on you,” the words becoming a sort of anthem. His rhythm captivated the audience—so much so that we began to mouth along, the song culminating in a brave & simultaneously brilliant sax solo.
I can only hope for continued use of the epic sax on their proper debut LP out this fall (autumn). Either way, St. Lucia should have no problem gaining footing as a breakout band to watch this year.
Listen to more tracks from their EP here
www.soundcloud.com/st-lucia
St. Lucia is – Jean Phillip Grobler (lead vocals, guitar), Patricia Beranek (keys, vocals), Ross Clark (bass, guitar, keys, vocals) Nick Brown (drums), Nick Paul (keys).
Catch St. Lucia during their residency at Pianos, New York every Tuesday night in February.