Eclectecism Reigns at The Mute Group's Sinister Hand Birthday Party

In a Portlandia-fied world, the term “curated” has become laughable. But it still accurately describes Nashvillian Michael Eades' relationship with his label, YK Records. 

Since YK’s inception in 2009, Eades has assembled a roster of alternative-minded, loosely connected musicians from the Nashville and Murfreesboro scenes, and fostered a hands-on, collaborative approach in putting out their records — 70 and counting. There isn’t really a YK “sound” so much as a unifying sincerity to its acts. Many of said groups’ members are in their 30s or 40s and not chasing the dream of playing music full-time. All of them, however, care deeply about the craft and presentation. 

Making up Friday’s all-local bill at The 5 Spot were two bands (The Mute Group and Fetching Pails) promoting YK LPs from 2019, and another (Black Bra) with its debut just around the corner, plus a group from the label’s extended family (Scale Model). The evening’s headliner, art-pop foursome The Mute Group, billed the gig as a first birthday party for its debut album, last year’s long-in-the-works Sinister Hand LP.

Working with vinyl runs of 500 or less, as YK tends to, pressing-plant or artwork-related delays are part of the cost of doing business. In October 2018, The Mute Group learned about this the hard way — a planned album-release party had to be downgraded to a regular show since copies of the LP weren't ready yet. Makeup shows for Sinister Hand were held at The Basement and Grimey’s when the record eventually came out in January 2019.

I wasn't following the band then, but I imagine what transpired when they played third in the lineup on Friday was what they’d intended all along: a fine-tuned set of songs for a roomful of attentive friends, complete with a custom cake emblazoned with the album art. Before taking the stage, Mute Group main man Zack Gresham presented the sweet treat, a yellow cake with white frosting and a single lit candle, to Eades. I retreated to the merch table for a piece, and it was delicious. But were it to reflect TMG’s intricate, baroque sound, it’d need many more ingredients — something more Great British Baking Show than grocery-store bakery counter.

Watching the band members take their seats onstage, low-key indie-rock chair-sitters like Chicago chillers Califone and Seattle sad-boys Fleet Foxes came to mind. But for Gresham and The Mute Group, seated does not mean sedentary. The lanky, bespectacled bandleader poured himself into the entirety of the hour-long performance. He rocked out passionately in his chair with his Gibson SG, trading off vocals with keyboardist Amy Gill on the stirring “Rodney O” and uncorking an ’80s-metal-worthy solo on “Sun Worship,” a pair of Sinister Hand standouts. During the coda of “Lake Victoria,” a tune written since the record’s release, the whole band — rounded out by John Westberry on drums and Ryan LaFave on bass and acoustic guitar — pitched in harmonies to show-stopping effect. 

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Jill Townsend, alias Fetching Pails, followed with a set of meandering but melodious alterna-pop tunes off her YK debut Telekinesis for Beginners. As happens when one brings a bedroom project to life, the five-piece band seemed to still be getting its sea legs, but Townsend’s great pop singing voice and easy melodic sensibility are undeniable, and drummer Jeremi Morris was playing some very crafty, nonobvious parts back there. I found the Telekinesis track “That Youth Is Wasted” to be especially strong, and look forward to Pails’ Spewfest V set on Feb. 8. 

Earlier in the night, the New Wave-indebted four-piece Scale Model leaned into its Reagan-era trappings with a faithful cover of The Outfield’s 1985 slow-dance anthem “Your Love.” It fit right in with the group’s buoyant originals, including the just-released single “Cycles.” The tunes went down easy with four-on-the-floor timekeeping (from longtime Scene freelance photog Steve Cross, behind the kit rather than the camera) and local guitar tech and luthier par excellence Dave Johnson firing off Edge-like riffs for days. Scale Model’s onstage look doubled down on its music’s ’80s-party-band aesthetic, from singer-keytarist Megan Rox’s Blade Runner-disco costume to a pair of custom-built Lucite guitars and, on one song, a megaphone.

Black Bra, who went first, is the sonic union of Nashville indie-punk luminary Beth Cameron of Forget Cassettes, Jasmin Kaset drummer Tyler Coppage, bassist Miles Price and synth player and stand-up comic Jesse Case. The group has picked its spots since forming in 2018, playing only a handful of shows and maintaining an air of mystery, with only a pair of YouTube clips from its first gig to go on. Unfortunately for me, it’ll stay that way a bit longer — as nights at The 5 Spot tend to be late ones, I took my time getting down there, and I only caught the last song of Black Bra's set. The feeling is something that Forget Cassettes fans will find familiar, but there are some interesting new twists, especially in the prominent synth textures. 

Black Bra’s YK debut is in the can, Eades and Cameron tell me, with a release date to be announced as soon as artwork is finalized. For a rare label more concerned with getting it right than doing it fast — to my eternal appreciation — the album is a sure bet to mark a fine beginning to YK’s second decade.

See our slideshow for more photos.