Elohim Spreads Unconditional Love at Exit/In

The Spin has been forced to see way too many night-friendly bands sweat it out in the blinding light of day at Bonnaroo. L.A. singer-producer Elohim has achieved just the level of national attention that we’re expecting to see her grace The Other Tent sometime around 3 p.m. for her opening-day slot down on the farm. Despite a slew of equally interesting goings-on Friday night, the chance to see the enigmatic under-the-radar pop princess’ full stage show under optimum conditions at Exit/In was too tempting to pass up.

Unfortunately, thanks to our infamous sense of timing, we experienced local opener James Droll’s set second hand. Our photog informed us that the electro-centric, neo-R&B crooner sounded as smooth and energetic as he does on his recordings, with a bit of comedic banter between songs. 

Touring opener Yoshi Flower — aka songwriter-producer Josh Smith — is a familiar name to Elohim fans. He’s the featured guest on her recent single “Panic Attacks,” and he's also reportedly her roommate. Armed with just a guitar, some backing tracks and a rather dazzling light show, Smith kept it very chill for the first half of his set of catchy, introspective left-field pop. But with every song, he seemed to grow a bit more confident. By set’s end, his charm started to shine through, and his slightly bashful call to dance managed to elicit some rare movement out of Nashville’s notoriously stationary audience members.  

Between sets, the two screens that would provide a portion of the headliner’s production displayed a block of text welcoming us to the “World of Elohim.” To paraphrase, it told us that we are beautiful and that we give the world light. It's the kind of thing that makes us skeptical, but after seeing the performer in action, it felt too organic and just plain fun to dismiss snidely. We felt compelled to get acquainted with those around us, and it added an extra layer of posi-vibing camaraderie to the evening.

In photos and videos, the singer’s face is frequently obscured with a cheap plastic lion mask. Live, she ditches the mask, and occasionally steps out from behind her wall of keyboards to dance along the edge of the stage and hand out flowers. All the same, she still deftly avoids the full glare of the spotlight: A dazzling light show, a sweep of hair, a large pair of sunglasses and a text-to-voice program (through which all of her stage banter was processed) ensure that the music gets to speak for itself. 

Elohim’s delicately sweet and whispery voice, bouncy synthesizers and club-ready beats make her a prime candidate to become a darling of the indie-pop scene. Singles like “Sleepy Eyes,” “Hallucinations” and “Love Is Alive” and album cuts from her self-titled debut (set to drop April 27) inspired spirited sing-alongs from the half-capacity crowd, who swayed with arms raised and palms open. It felt to us like the show split the difference between dance party and benevolent cult gathering.

Love has been integral to pop music practically since the Big Bang, but the love Elohim is focused on is very different from the good, bad or indifferent romance that has inspired other great songs. Her brand is something cosmic and unconditional. It’s not free from anxiety — note songs like “Xanax” and the aforementioned “Panic Attacks,” the latter of which was performed Friday as a duet with Yoshi Flower. 

But it’s something all-encompassing, which puts the singer’s semi-controversial adoption of the Hebrew name for God in context: Many monotheistic religions equate the deity with love. While there are plenty of issues with organized religion, stepping away from the heated, polarized discourse that dominates so many conversations in 2018 is refreshing. It feels like a good way to reframe discussions about issues that affect us all without downplaying how serious those issues are. During the encore, we joined the mob of sweaty fans in screaming, “I’ve got love / Fuck your money” (the chorus of Elohim’s recent single “Fuck Your Money”), and we can only hope that the sentiment lingers.

See our slideshow for more photos.

In The Spin — the Scene's live review column — staffers and freelance contributors review concerts under a collective byline.