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NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concerts
Tiny Desk Concerts from NPR's All Songs Considered features your favorite musicians performing at Bob Boilen's desk in the NPR Music office. This is the AUDIO only archive.Are you a fancy A/V nerd and need video? Visit our new Tiny Desk Concert video channel. Eye-popping video and all of the music you've come to expect.

Lucius: Tiny Desk Concert

By Bob Boilen
Published January 7, 2013 at 11:59 AM MST

We brought Lucius to the Tiny Desk because I fell in love with one joyous, catchy song: "Don't Just Sit There." That's all I had to go on — I'd never seen the group live — and though I expected fun, we also got fabulous. Not only are Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig a winning singing duo, but their charisma and charm helps turn good pop songwriting into an endearing performance.

Both Berklee School of Music alumni, the two women moved to a Victorian home they'd found on Craigslist. As it turns out, that old Brooklyn home had a 60-year history as a recording studio and music school, complete with an old Steinway piano; it was there that they found their future bandmates. Danny Molad, Peter Lalish and Andrew Burri fill out the group with guitars and drums and an uncanny ability to create songs with vastly differing character.

One minute, Lucius sounds like a girl group circa 1961; the next, you could be hearing an Emmylou Harris outtake. And, though only four songs turn up on the band's 2012 EP, I feel a strong album on the way. Pair that with a dynamic and lovable stage presence, and what you're witnessing from Lucius at the Tiny Desk sounds like the early days of a long career.

Set List

  • "Go Home"

  • "Don't Just Sit There"

  • "Turn It Around"

  • "Genevieve"

    • Credits

    Producer: Bob Boilen; Editor: Denise DeBelius; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Christopher Parks, Ryan Smith; photo by Lauren Rock/NPR

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Tags
    Tiny Desk Concerts
    Bob Boilen
    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
    See stories by Bob Boilen
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