Yndi Halda, a six-piece post rock band from Canterbury, England, made it all the way to Eugene, Oregon as part of their US West Coast tour leg. This was after a brief stretch in Canada, and followed by a handful of dates in Mexico. Despite having only two studio albums under their belts, the English post-rockers have been around since 2001, and they released their debut album, Enjoy Eternal Bliss, in 2007.
The snug Old Nick’s Pub hosted Yndi Halda and their Chicago tour-mates, Staghorn, in Eugene. Both bands place more importance on instrumentation rather than vocals.
After taking a request from an audience member to open with “Dash & Blast,” Yndi Halda played a set containing songs from both records. Their music is most conveniently described as post-rock because of its climactic and predominantly nonverbal nature, but it has more of a romantic, narrative mood. Their songs would lend themselves perfectly to film, although, they tell epic tales enough on their own. One trait that bolsters this uniqueness is the use of violin by Daniel Neal as well as many exotic instruments by James Vella including the banjo, glockenspiel, and lapsteel.
They finished out the evening with the song “This Very Flight” from their second album, Under Summer, which dazzled the patrons of Old Nick’s. A gallant adventure in volume and harmony devolved slowly, ending with each member laying down his instrument in exchange for a pair of handheld monophonic vibraphones. The crowd gazed, hypnotized by the synchronized percussion melody.
