Indie pop duo The Score headlined The Studio at Webster Hall on Monday night.
Accompanied by bass and drums, Eddie Anthony (vocals, guitar) and Edan Dover (keyboard, producer) played to a well-behaved but devoted high school crowd.
Originally from New York, the Los Angeles based band was unburdened by angst, imbuing instead a sunny SoCal cheer into beats packaged for commercial radio.
The group opened with “Where Do You Run,” featured on their 2015 EP. But the short set was mostly a buildup to the track that shot The Score into the public eye and earned them a deal with Republic Records. “Oh My Love” was picked up by the British supermarket chain Asda for a 2015 commercial campaign, and made it to #43 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2015.
“We’re going to play one last song,” Anthony announced, before launching into an abridged cover of Drake’s “Hotline Bling” that segued bizarrely into the catchy, whitebread “oh oh oh-ing” that characterizes “Oh My Love” and much of The Score’s repertoire.
Anthony’s rapport with the audience was enthusiastic. He delivered poppy lyrics with his mouth pressed to the mic, eyes closed. Dover bounced with equal gusto over his keyboard. A teasing guitar lick elicited shouts of approval. Anthony projected charming innocence when he called his much younger fans “sexy motherf-ers” and suggested that after the show everyone was likely to make “bad decisions,” even in the face of the gaggle of supportive parents lurking at the back of the room.
