AHA AVL presents Lovett from Shuffle Magazine on Vimeo.

Producer-turned-bandleader Ben Lovett gives no indication, in this AHA AVL performance, that his background is behind the scenes. His work in music started in Athens, Ga. in the late ’90s, and production work carried him to Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles before he settled in Asheville. On stage, Lovett leads a crack band, emoting like Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos over a moody, dynamic and atmospheric backing. In fact, if anything betrays the time Lovett spent in the producer’s chair, its his attention to detail and his ear for the slow build. “Eye of the Storm” finds Lovett and his eponymous band at its most spare and its most saturated. An opening that recalls the mood and murk of Glaswegian gloomsters The Twilight Sad erupts in its midsection, spilling over with swells of synthesizers and processed guitars, crisp drums and Lovett’s melancholy smear of a voice.