Modern Nature at Rough Trade
photo by P Squared

Modern Nature and Olden Yolk were captivating @ Rough Trade (pics)

UK group Modern Nature are in the middle of their first-ever North American tour, which stopped in Brooklyn on Saturday for a show at Rough Trade. Led by Jack Cooper, who was in Ultimate Painting, the Modern Nature lineup for this tour is different than the one that made the record (which included Beak>’s Will Young and Woods’ Aaron Neveu) but that turned out to be ok. Sunwatchers’ Jeff Tobias and his saxophone took on a much bigger presence in the group’s sound which mixes motorik krautrock with British folk and free jazz. The band played their terrific debut album back-to-front, with no break between songs, apart from the point where you’d flip the vinyl album over. It was a hypnotic set and they finished with “Supernature” off their EP of the same name. Cooper said their next album was already in the can.

Modern Nature’s tourmates are Olden Yolk, who also mix folk and krautrock elements and released a terrific album last year. Led by Shane Butler of Quilt (a band that seem to be on hiatus; his bandmate Anna Fox was in the audience Saturday) and Caity Shaffer, Olden Yolk’s too-short set showcased their musicianship and songwriting acumen on baroque, groovy songs like “Cotton & Cane,” “Grand Palais” and “Takes One to Know One.”

The night started with New York-based Israeli guitarist and vocalist Dida Pelled. Pictures of her set and the whole evening are in the gallery above.

The Modern Nature / Olden Yolk tour continues tonight in Burlington, VT and from there heads to Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis and Columbus, OH. All dates are listed below.

Modern Nature / Olden Yolk – 2020 Tour Dates
on. Jan. 13 – Burlington, VT @ The Monkey House
Tue. Jan. 14 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le ‘Ritz’ P.D.B.
Wed. Jan. 15 – Toronto, ON @ The Monarch
Thu. Jan. 16 – Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx
Sat. Jan. 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
Mon. Jan. 20 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups

photos by P Squared