Downtown | International Festival of Arts & Ideas | Music | Arts & Culture | New Haven Green
Jayla Anderson Photos.
The drummer raised his arms above his head and beat his sticks together three times, cueing in the band around him. A strong beat and guitar riff filled the air as the lead singer’s voice wove in and out of the instrumentals.
“I was trying to let you go,” he sang, his voice quiet and tinged with a note of melancholy. “Moving on, moving on, moving on and on.”
Weaving Chinese and English lyrics together, Loto crooned of a past romance with both fondness and the necessity of moving forward. Drummer Will and lead guitarist Anzur fed into the lyrics, the instruments dying down and building up all over again. It mimicked the emotional rollercoaster of the song.
These were sounds heard this past Thursday on the New Haven Green, as the Brooklyn-based Asian indie band Hang Him To The Scales (HHTTS) opened its set with the original song, “Tripped.”Performing an eight-song set on the Alexander Clarke Stage, the group opened for the main act of the night, Christine Tassan et les Imposteures.
Although HHTTS opened the night for a jazz ensemble, its sounds drew inspiration from the dreampop and shoegaze genres, reminiscent of bands like Slowdive and Sweet Trip. Narrated by bassist Yena, who took on the role of interpreter between the band and the audience, the group seemed to welcome New Haven into its world, which has been growing steadily since a first release in December 2021.
Everything about this band is small, from musicians’ dialogue on stage to their 443 monthly listeners on Spotify. Last Thursday, that only added to the intrigue and occasional, surprising grandness of the group, which creates a laid-back, groovy atmosphere with its music.
Throughout the show, the crowd grew and diversified; passers-by and bus riders grooved on their way through the space, pedestrians lingered, some festival-goers arrived with folding chairs and provisions for the evening. On stage, HHTTS did not disappoint, with a set that featured three songs completely in Chinese, and five that blended English and Chinese lyrics and sonic influences. Among these was a song released in 2023, “Poutine.”
As he leaned in to perform the song, Loto found that his mic had an echoey quality that made his voice sound layered and larger than it was. As he sang, festival staff blew bubbles onto the stage from the side and swayed with the music. The band of four instruments–drums, bass, two guitar lines–was small enough to pinpoint every sound that was coming from the band but in tune enough to create big, unified sounds. Further into the set, the band welcomed a fifth instrument onto the stage, the Chinese flute.
“We usually have another player join us on stage, but she had a family emergency,” Yena said, thanking her good friend for stepping in as a flutist with only one full band rehearsal as preparation for the festival. As musicians welcomed their fifth member, they also introduced their fifth song, “Dive.”
“Dive was written in the memory of a 19-year-old boy who died in a submarine that sank a few years ago,” Yena said.
The introduction of the Chinese flute to the band added another layer of depth to the sound. Though written with tragic circumstances in mind, it was played and sung with delicacy, alluding to belonging with care.
“Dive into the shade,” Yena sang. “Show me your precious pond.”
It was a sharp contrast to “Golden Era,” a heavier song that holds more aggression than the rest of HHTTS’ discography. As it began, the Chinese flute wove through the guitar and heavy drums like a second voice to match Loto’s. The two took turns floating through the music–flute, then Loto, back to flute, and so on throughout the song.
The lyrics only further juxtaposed “Dive’s” sad longing with “Golden Era’s” angry resignation.
“Trying to make a way is freaking useless,” Loto sang.
The repetition of this as a final line to every chorus only echoed the abandonment of care that the song spoke of.
As the band closed its set, members requested more bubbles to accompany them on stage. Although most members remained quiet for the set, the band demonstrated the power that music and a strong stage presence contribute to building an audience.
“As you can tell, all members of our band are introverts,” Yena said, prompting a laugh from the audience. “It’s something for us to work on for the stage.”