Psychedelic duo MV & EE or fully Matt Valentine and Erika Elder were the main feature at the Empty Bottle last Thursday. The Ecstatic Peace couple were not without the help of both a drummer/guitarist and bassist to complete their sound while Matt Valentine played both banjo and harmonica at different points in the set to create layers of structured psychedelic noise, guaranteed to make any fan of the genre a happy and satisfied listener.
This was my first time seeing MV & EE and the major difference between their albums and their live performance is twofold: the songs are longer and it comes together more powerfully altogether in a live setting. It’s strange how the noise seeps into you and almost relaxes you even though you feel it’s intensity. It’s an odd sort of psychedelic landscape that is created but it works. The songs themselves, though only a handful, felt like they were enough and didn’t leave you wanting or feeling bereft.
The band itself is also a thing of beauty. These two are real creative artists who even hand paint some of their record art. There’s a perfect sense to them as two humans from Brattleboro, Vermont. Maybe it’s the sense of being natural or just one with themselves and that factors into the way the music sounds and makes the songs more complete. Aside from this, both Matt and Erika are both very talented and it was interesting to hear how not only their instrumentation but their vocals complemented eachother and the band as a whole, making MV & EE definitely a band worth seeing live.
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