You know that floaty, nostalgic feeling you get when you wake up from a dream you don’t quite remember and you inexplicably miss your childhood dog, your kindergarten teacher, your mom’s pancakes or some other such non sequitur to your current life? (Admit it, you know exactly what I’m talking about.) Well, if those types of dreams had soundtracks, Other Lives would be the band to write them. Ethereal, orchestral, lush—all words that come to mind as I watch Other Lives perform at the famous KCRW studios in Santa Monica, CA during their slot on Morning Becomes Eclectic (Mon–Fri, 9am—12pm). This is not typically how I’d think to describe anything from Stillwater, Oklahoma, but for these scraggily haired, doe-eyed twenty-somethings, it fits.
And it also fits to see them play on such a historic show, because their soaring harmonies, classical, sometimes avant-garde arrangements and poetic lyrics resonate, giving them the depth of a band that’s been around a while. Listening to lead vocalist and guitar player Jesse Tabish sing, “Put down your banners and flowers, This war you’ve made won’t last, Your country, just lines on a map, They’re drawn up, they don’t last” in the song Paper Cities, his dad leans over and says, “everyone says he sounds like John Lennon in this one.” First I think it’s endearing that the band’s on tour with dad and that he compares his son to such an iconic musical figure, but soon realize dad’s got a point. Other Lives has the timeless appeal of the typical guitar/bass/drums combo, but filled out with piano, cello and/or violin. And as they’re rocking the Palladium later that night (opening for The Decembrists), Jesse does sound a bit like Lennon and Other Lives takes on another sound; the same songs we heard that morning have a harder edge, a decidedly more rock n’ roll feel.
I don’t know how the band chose its name, but it gets me thinking about the theory of past lives affecting current ones, the idea that we carry our “other lives” with us eternally. I’m not sure if I believe in all that touchy-feely stuff, but I do believe that Other Lives (the band) will be with us for quite some time. They’re just that good.
Words by Christine Spehar, photos by Parts Department
