Photographs by Ryan O’Shaughnessy.
It’s been interesting getting to see Ought grow up. With the recent release of their latest full-length album, Sun Coming Down, the Montreal-based group has continued to draw critical attention – pulling in solid reviews from the likes of Pitchfork and Rolling Stone.
It’s exposure that’s well deserved, though it also brings Ought to an interesting fork in the road. As their music has explored paths even further away from the hooks lining 2014’s excellent More than Any Other Day and embraced the discordant and sprawling, they’ve also been playing bigger rooms. And while Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern wasn’t sold out on Thursday night, it was still respectably busy with a lot of people new to the Ought fold, all waiting to be won over by the four-piece’s post-punk. It’s difficult material to feel instantly connected to, however, and you could tell it played a part in creating a disconnect between the crowd and the band.
A sedated start with Sun Coming Down’s “Men for Miles” opened the night, building as the song progressed before moving into more familiar territory with More than Any Other Day’s “The Weather Song”. As is usually the case with touring a new album, the crowd responded warmly to the older material – the wordy conversationalist lyrics of “Beautiful Blue Sky” playing particularly well.
The band themselves seem aware of their position and the difficulties that come with showing off a new album as your fan base is still trying to make up their minds. “We’re going to play two more from the new record and one more from the greatest hits,” vocalist/guitarist Tim Darcy deadpanned – ultimately making good on the promise with final song “Gemini” and its rallying repeated calls of “want it”.
Beyond the division of material, working against Ought’s favour was the fact that they just seemed tired. “What day of the week is it?” Darcy asked at one point during the band’s hour-long set. Thankfully even when they’re tired they still sound good; you’re just not getting the off-the-wall manic energy a band like Ought is capable of delivering. It’s part of their charm and it unfortunately wasn’t all there during the Toronto set.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Ought is strong enough of a band that they’ll get to a point where it doesn’t seem too new and therefore too dependent on a routine. They’ll get back to being comfortable and, with that, get back to playing up their greatest strength: the sense that even though all the intersecting instrumentals are all calculated and precise, there’s an underlying tension because it seems as if it could all fly wildly off the rails. All in all, it was a fair showing – made slightly disappointing when you know they’re capable of even more.
