Watching Maia Ciambriello and Sasha Goldberg of The Army, The Navy live is like watching a science experiment on stage. At their Paradise Rock Club show on Oct. 27, the pair maintained direct eye contact as their hands accentuated their shifting pitches, weaving their voices together and bouncing off the idiosyncrasies in one another’s voices. Their performances felt both perfectly rehearsed and entirely spontaneous as they left space for the other to take the lead melody, shifting roles every couple of bars.

Following a timid opening by Ella Woolsey, where the singer-songwriter crooned to an unprimed audience with a relatively indistinguishable setlist of original songs, The Army, The Navy had a heavier responsibility to warm up the crowd. Luckily, the pair were able to shift the venue’s vibe from coffeehouse to spectacle quite fast, as their set began with pulsating lighting that hyped up the band’s entrance to the stage.

The set opened with “Becky,” where lights flooded the stage that created an illusion of watery pools as Goldberg laid harmonies over Ciambriello’s strong melody. The emphasis on consonance continued through the next song, “2 Collide,” where the tune was isolated, separate from the other instruments on stage as well as the sonic blends. Treated as its own instrument, the overlap of voices became even more arresting, showing the intentionality between each shift in vocals.

Unfortunately though, the mismatch between the band’s instruments and the delicate voicings emerged in that same song. Attempting to toe the line between crisp, electric accompaniment and a more intimate vocal performance, the quieter harmonies got lost in the jamming out. Although the band’s most unique element — the duo’s singing — felt less present, the music still excited the crowd, with both members allowing the audience to chant out some of the song’s most cathartic elements.

Beyond just the musical incongruity, the pair themselves at times differed in energy levels and stage presence. This contrast first became apparent in “Stars Stay Awake,” where Goldberg grooved around the stage while Ciambriello remained relatively stationary as she strummed the guitar. Goldberg’s presence added greatly to the immersive nature of this rendition, though. With purple lights spinning out across the audience and her dynamic dancing, the band swept the audience into the otherworldly combination of lyrics and notes.

The band did demonstrate great intentionality throughout their performance, using every subtle detail as another layer of music. In “Curse The Man,” the band started an unconventional audience clap that created a new dimension in the song. During the entire set, too, the three-member accompanying band rotated through instruments: the violinist switched to keyboard and saxophone intermittently, the guitarist bounced between different guitars and keys, and Ciambriello even helped out the drummer during “Big One.”

“BBIDGI” easily became one of the most awe-inspiring moments of the show. As the duo turned to face each other rather than the audience, the intense focus behind their harmonies became shockingly clear. While Ciambriello strummed guitar, the pair’s voices diverged and soared through the venue, holding the audience spellbound. The slower, toned down rendition paid testament to The Army, The Navy’s foundational strength: the fragile balance of the pair’s angelic voices.

The stark contrast between the intimacy and focus of “BBIDGI” and the set’s higher-intensity songs brings forth the question of how the band should approach their live performances. For their more upbeat songs that rely less heavily on harmonies, such as “40%” and “Fake Brave,” the choice of a fun accompaniment allowed the audience to dance around — just as they did with their interpretative dance moves — and enjoy the ethereal world that the pair’s lyrics create. Yet, the slower moments were what made the show and solidified why The Army, The Navy deserves reverence: not for the spectacles they can create, but for the moments that show off Ciambriello and Goldberg’s seemingly magical melodic lines.

This artistic synergy still made itself clear in other songs of the night. In “Dirty Laundry,” the pair sang in popcorn-style, alternating words in sync with pulsating lights, creating a striking performance that drew the audience’s attention to the unique approach and skillful focus the alternation required.

In a lovely pairing of “Persimmon” and “Vienna (In Memoriam),” the band immersed the crowd once again in melodic compositions with a masterful violin accompaniment and drawn out lyrics. Matching lights accompanied both songs — an apparent orange for “Persimmon,” and incorporeal lights dispersing throughout the crowd for the latter song’s elegy. For “Vienna (In Memoriam),” the pair asked an audience member to tell the story of its namesake — briefly: a cat, a dead rat, a brick, and all that implies — allowing the crowd to connect with the band’s world and history, blurring the line once again between the performers and fans.

As the concert ended, the performance still felt a bit unclear on The Army, The Navy’s vision for their live music experience. The band seemed to be actively figuring out the line between rocking out and their gentle serenading, taking every opportunity to demonstrate the group’s obvious musical talent, even if it meant overshadowing the vocal prowess that makes The Army, The Navy worth paying attention to. As “The Fake Brave Tour 2026” continues, the band has plenty of opportunities to hammer down the perfect balance as they continue to harness the chemistry between Ciambriello and Goldberg.

—Staff writer Sophie M. Houck can be reached at [email protected].