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By JJ Brewis Photos by Sprout /

A double bill can be risky business. Pairing up two similar artists is even trickier. Take Saturday's Biltmore two-for-the-price-of-one do-up for example. Both acts are Swedish indie pop darlings; both are female singer/songwriter types; both craft elegant slow dream pop that borders on the morose side of heart pangs.

Up first was Gotherburg's Sarah Assbring, who records as El Perro Del Mar. Delivering an A-game straight from the lead track "Let Me In", Assbring and her band of bearded, devilishly cute Swedish backing musicians showed their talents throughout a short but quality set. The set hit a high point early, with the second track being the lead-off single from El Perro Del Mar's 2009 release "Love Is Not Pop", the infectious but emotionally bruising "Change Of Heart." The live version of "Heart" showcased a more haunting skeleton, with emphesized guitar parts, raising the track to an almost symphonic level. The interesting part about El Perro Del Mar's set was that it was essentially a feature of the new album, almost completely ignoring her prior three releases, aside from the chilling re-interpretation of "Party," off her self-titled 2007 release; this new version kicked the studio version upside its head, gaining new perspective and emotional depth backed by new guitar lines and vocal persuasion. Although a sprite ten songs, her impression was lasting, as she cordially introduced the audience to her bandmates, and left us with haunting lyrics like "When the end it near, You can lean on, When your heart is gone, you will see it," the repeated phrasing from "L Is For Love." Though melancholy, the tracks are performed with uplifting and often catchy melodies, similar in format to The Smiths and The Cure before her. And Assbring delivered a very inspired live performance, constantly feeling the music moving through her, displaying her enthusiasm through dance and never ending hand motions, which seemed to flow as natrually as the heartfelt messages behind these powerful tunes.

The second act of the night was Taken By Trees, the 'solo' departure by former Concretes vocalist Victoria Bergsman. While Bergsman shared some aspects with El Perro Del Mar (such as the entire same backing band, for example: truly a testament to a cohesive tour lineup), certain idiosyncracies showed up throught her performance. Her set was actually preceded by a five minute long video art piece of a woman traveling on a train, shots of crowded streets, and other 'daily' type film footage, set to a moving instrumental track. This video piece added up to a part of Taken By Trees' synergetic brainchild of "East Of Eden," which just happens to be the title of her newest LP. The album, recorded in Pakistan, certainly invokes South Asian culture, and the live performance only accentuated that, complete with lit incense atop the keyboards, a set decked out in rugs, and a wardrobe featuring Bergsman's oversized frock mixed with a European straight-cut bangs. The band was even more fine-tuned and committed to the performance here, displaying an array of instrumental talents, from pan flute, to xylophone, to bongos. Bergsman herself was a bit less on the ball than the rest of her players, seeming a bit flaky and off balance, sometimes becoming distracted or flustered for no apparent reason. Her vocal delivery was on par for the most part, and the eerie behaviour may just be her general stage demeanour, but it was hard not to compare her to the heartbreakingly real essence of Sarah Assbring before her. But with a simple vocal range and style that recall the sounds of Camera Obscura, Taken By Trees have a certain something going for them that seperates them from other artists on the scene today. To show that brand of unique sound, they diversified Animal Collective's 2009 hit "My Girls" with a re-do gender-swapping Jungle inspired version "My Boys," which had the crowd shaking it unlike they had the entire evening, and I suppose there is something to be said about that unto itself.

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