CALLIOPE / AUBURN LULL / A.M. SYNDICATE / MASON PROPER

Calliope
Auburn Lull
AM Syndicate
Mason Proper

Saturday, September 29
8:00 PM
ALL AGES, $5
(doors at 7:00)

"Calliope nuzzle contentedly against post-rock and dream-pop, and flirt with electronica, showing remarkable restraint and good taste in their dalliances with each."
- splendidezine.com

(SCENE) Metrospace is proud to host Calliope's return from a nearly year-long recording hiatus. A presence in the post-rock/dream pop genre for over a decade, Calliope's accomplished discography and often multisensory live shows approach cinematic proportions -- all the while remaining uniquely accessible. With critical approval, European tours, and a Coca Cola commercial under their belt, the band has released five albums (including 2004's superb "Sounds Like Circles Feel" and 1996's "I Can See You With My Eyes Closed," which was recorded with assistance from Tortoise's Bundy K. Brown) whose immediate draw belies an intricate underlying craftsmanship which occasionally allows noisier elements to burn through.

Textural guitar collagists Auburn Lull formed on the rural fringe of Lansing, MI in 1995, coming together out of a shared affection for 4AD and Creation bands. Two critically acclaimed albums followed, such as 1999's "Alone I Admire" and 2004's "Cast From The Platform," as well as a compilation of rarities and EP's titled "Regions Less Parallel" -- all on the Darla imprint. Now with dual home bases in Pennsylvania and Lansing, Auburn Lull is also fresh from recording sessions for a forthcoming full-lenth release.

Austin, Texas-based A.M. Syndicate joins the bill on tour heralding their forthcoming "Liberation" CD, scheduled for release in November 2007 by Austin, TX based Novastar Records. Formed in 2004 by Omar Chavez of Rhythm of Black Lines as well as past- and future- members of The Rise, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and Knife in the Water, the band is now a three-piece blurring influences as disparate as Blonde Redhead and Simon & Garfunkel into sculptural sonic fluency with flights of songwriting grandeur.

Following an impressive Dovecote Records debut "There is a Moth In Your Chest," Mason Proper recently returned from well-received performances in New York. Hailing from the unlikely third coast town of Alpena, Michigan, and now based out of Ann Arbor, the band has captured audiences with a deft mix of angular guitars, electronic textures, songwriting sensitivity, and moments of indie dreampop that might have dredged up awkwardly jerrymandered comparisons to artists ranging from Earlimart to Sonic Youth -- if these inevitably innacurate comparisons didn't merely hint at the band's true scope and versatility. The band joins us shortly after Morrison, Colorado's Monolith Music Festival, where they will share stages with acts like Spoon, Clap Your Hands say Yeah, and The Flaming Lips.

This performance is smoke- and alcohol-free, and all ages are welcome. Early arrival for this show is encouraged, as space is limited.