Austin natives Mother Falcon recently performed at Central Presbyterian Church on 8th Street to celebrate the release of their first full-length album “Alhambra.”

The album demonstrates a progression from the band’s “Still Life EP,” released just over a year ago at the same location. Though now, the band featured a wider variety of musical ingredients such as the vocals of Beirut’s Zach Condon, Owen Pallett’s viola expertise, and DeVotchKa’s fusion of folk and Eastern European elements.

Central Presbyterian Church provided the perfect acoustics for Mother Falcon to perform a truly awe-inspiring show. A few songs were played from the band’s “Still Life EP” before their informal leader, Nick Gregg, announced that they would perform “Alhambra” in its entirety. Haunting chords and dark vocals filled the main chamber with despair, while staccato string pieces layered with thick brass sounds incited nostalgia for anyone who has ever known the beauty of childhood and love, and finally undulating cadences lifted the audience into the church rafters before leaving them suspended in ringing silence.

Just as impressive as the album’s beautiful metaphor for the joys and sorrow of life is the sheer amount of talent concentrated within Mother Falcon. Through the first third of the band’s set, Gregg exchanged instrument after instrument for each song, and many of the other nearly 20 group members played a sort of musical chairs with their respective instrumets and placements about the pulpit. Band members disappeared into the jungle of bodies and brass only to reemerge somewhere else upon the stage. This talent was further enriched by the group’s stage presence, free of exhibitionism and full of personality, from a multitude of the members in its verbal song introductions and anecdotes.

The only regret one could have leaving this show is that the church pews made it very difficult to fully and physically engage in the performance. Simple foot-tapping would simply not suffice.