Tycho @ Union Transfer.

Text by Christopher Kurdelski. Images by Teresa McCullough.

Saturday night, Tycho brought their West Coast adaptation of ambient post-rock to the City of Brotherly Love. Front-man Scott Hansen puts as much emphasis on the band’s visual artistry as he does the music, and that was clear from the start. Crisp album iconography and majestic videos were a perfect complement to the clean, chill sound of Tycho.

Gardens and Villa opened the night in front of a sell-out at Union Transfer (after doing an in-store show at a.k.a. music for Record Store Day). Everyone was impressed when their front-man broke out several minutes of flute-supported material.

The main act went right into to their new album’s name-sake, Awake, for the first song of the night. They stayed with the new album for most of the night, perhaps owing to the fact that Tycho as a band is relatively new entity (only recently adding supporting members Zac Brown and Rory O’Connor).

Whether we were watching a kaleidoscopic sun, a cresting tidal wave, or a beautiful, pensive woman wandering through the desert sand dunes, it was easy to submit to the Tycho experience. During the show, there may not have been a single thought of worry amongst the entire crowd.

Welcome to Philadelphia, Tycho. Please come back soon.