a few sunday afternoons ago, the enchanting chris taylor and his band cant blew us away. 

as part of this years sydney festival, cant performed their set under the shelter of the ever famous spiegeltent. inside and out of the rain, their dreamy, but rhythmically driven electro-pop was amazing to see live. with nuances that seemed more interesting and enticing live than on their album, the band were a tight knot of musicality. 

frontman chris taylor also plays in one of my favourite bands, grizzly bear. not only does he master the bass and belt out backing vocals, chris has produced the last three grizzly albums. and if all of this hasn’t kept him busy, chris and ethan silverman have built their own record company, terrible records, which has produced such albums as rise above by the dirty projectors and forget by twin shadow (who’s in town for the laneway festivals…).

and even though cant’s soulful, experimental sound felt slightly out of place in the daylight, the incredible travelling spiegeltent was a complementary setting. everyone managed to get their head dance groove on, whilst siting back on their rickety deck chairs. 

with a great supporting band of synth and guitar, it was the drummer that captured my gaze. with a steady beat coming through the electronic sounds, the drums were able to take on an exciting, off beat and more complex role. such fun to watch. and chris’ vocals were stunning for the entire set, particularly on the track believe. what honest and challenging lyrics. 

but it was his cute manner and sincerity that topped it off. it is inspiring to watch musicians that are not only great at their art-form, but who love all of it completely. chris taylor and cant are just that.    

be sure to let their album, dreams come true, sweep you away. and keep all eyes peeled for their return to aus.

the things i haven’t shown you you won’t believe. 

the things i haven’t told you you won’t believe.