Austinist Show Preview: Love as Laughter & Oxford Collapse at Mohawk

image from Love as Laughter's MySpace

Oxford Collapse & Love as Laughter
Wednesday, August 27
The Mohawk (912 Red River)
$10, doors at 8 p.m.
[info] | [tickets]

Every now and then there's a secret prize attached to a headliner, and you've got to dig a little bit to find it. And so it is with this show, as opening act Love as Laughter make this concert a must-see opportunity to pay homage to one of the last fifteen years' most consistently satisfying—not to mention influential—independent acts. Love as Laughter, for those who aren't familiar, were pivotal sounding boards for the early work of such independent staples as Modest Mouse and Built to Spill, and their collaborations and touring efforts with those bands helped start them on their careers—recently, there have even been rumors of a three-way collaboration sometime in the future. But all that's not to say that Love as Laughter, led by the widely-respected Sam Jayne, doesn't have their own game to offer, as their subtle late-career material reveals the band tightness and craft that comes only after years of playing together.

Headlining is a band who's been getting quite the little piece of press lately, Brooklyn's Oxford Collapse. Their just-dropped fourth full-length (second for Sub Pop), Bits, is getting buzzed about far and wide, and had the benefit of an early leak date to keep their presence on the tongues of critics and fans alike. Using several vocalists, a variety of instrumentation, and tried-and-true pop techniques—often borrowing from Britain's sixties and seventies—to craft widespread-ready tunes, the band is in the midst of a lengthy cross-country tour. When all's said and done, this show provides a little bit of the new and a little bit of the old, and the two coupled together should make for a very solid Wednesday night at the Mohawk.

Check after the jump to watch a very weird music video by Love as Laughter!