Helen Ballentine released her debut LP as Skullcrusher, Quiet The Room, last month, and she played her first-ever NYC show supporting it on Sunday night at Elsewhere. Playing in front of a projection of a moon rising over a forest, her set was as beautiful and delicate as her album, and the crowd was so quiet you could hear a pin drop (and, in the gaps between songs, OSHUN performing in the adjacent Zone One). She was joined by a few multi-instrumentalists, including Mal, who also opened the night, and who wrung a collection of haunted sounds out of their guitar and pedals that really added to the atmosphere. Along with songs from Quiet The Room, Skullcrusher also played a new song that she and her band had just practiced for the first time, and which sounded promising.
Following Mal's opening set, Yves Jarvis also played a solo set. See pictures from the whole night below.