Live: Ought @ An Club (Athens, April 12, 2016)

Yes! It is the simple yet powerful word that Tim Darcy repeats over and over again during the exquisite "Beautiful Blue Sky". This was also my immediate reaction when I heard the news that Ought were coming to play for the first time in Athens, just a few months after releasing the wonderful "Sun Coming Down", one of our Top 10 records of 2015.

The Montreal art-punk quartet completely justified our expectations by delivering a no-nonsense, powerful 60-minute set filled with great songs from both of their albums, the aforementioned "Sun Coming Down" and their 2014 debut "More Than Any Other Day".

"Pleasant Heart", "The Weather Song", "Men For Miles", "Sun's Coming Down", "Celebration", "(Are You) Gemini" were just a few of the highlights of Ought's performance that may bring to mind elements from various great bands of post-punk's glorious yesteryear (The Fall, Talking Heads, Modern Lovers, Pavement and so on), but it certainly has plenty of wit and personality to create an exciting sound they can call their own.

In a short period of time Ought have built a formidable body of songs, but I think there is no doubt as to what is their best moment so far and, of course, the absolute highlight of their live set: check out below "Beautiful Blue Sky" from their performance at An Club:

Ought - Beautiful Blue Sky, live @ An Club (Athens, April 12, 2016)

The Cave Children from Athens, who made their debut last year with the album "Quasiland", opened the night with a brief set that comprised psychedelic, progressive and indie pop elements.

The Cave Children, live @ An Club (Athens, April 12, 2016)

Although small in scale, this was certainly the first great gig in Athens for 2016, a year which, to put it mildly, did not have the best of starts, but promises to pick up the pace in late May - early June  when we are expecting festival appearances by some great names including PJ Harvey, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Slowdive, Black Angels, Diiv, Daughter, The Last Shadow Puppets and more. Summer's almost here kids...

Ought, live @ An Club