Bishop Allen El Mocambo January 17, 2009

Bishop Allen have done some serious growing up since Charm School.

The duo's 2003 debut was about as saccharine as a bubble gum pop album can get, but things started to change as they embarked on an EP-a-month project, three years later. Some of that adventure's more austere tunes made it onto their Broken String album in 2007, and it was like a completely different band had showed up to record.

March's release of their third full-length, Grrr... took that solemnity to new heights. It was this plaintive new Bishop Allen that showed up for their show at the El Mo—date one of a two-day tour that landed the band in Toronto, then Montreal.

Their new material is definitely more suited for the stage than for disc. On first spin, Grrr... comes off as a little boring, but its live translation—with full band backing—taps into the same kind of power that made The Broken String great.

They rattled off several tracks from each of their last two albums (Charm School was noticeably ignored) and closed the night with their epic "Flight 180." "The Monitor" was a definite highlight as well.

They weren't mind-blowing, but they definitely weren't disappointing.

(3/5)