Lydia. Photos: Joaquin Cabello

SAN FRANCISCO — Arizona indie pop band Lydia brought its ethereal sound, with melodies that oscillated freely between melancholic and happy, to the Chapel on Friday. The band is touring in support of new album Liquor, but the setlist was a trek through Lydia’s catalog.

Lydia performs at The Chapel in San Francisco on Aug. 24, 2018.

The band opened with “Hospital,” off 2008’s Illuminate, which is more simplistic than its newer material. “When It Gets Dark Out,” off 2015 album Run Wild, followed. That record has a more pop-indicative sound, with guitar arrangements and stickier vocal melodies that showed a shift in the band’s style. What remained the same throughout, however, was Lydia’s soft harmonies that settle in between the band’s rock and emo leanings.

For the intro to “Sunlight,” the new album’s opener, the band switched out their guitars, and vocalist Leighton Antelman was accompanied only by a piano. By the chorus, the band was at its peak form, blending roots with indie and pop.

Lydia also covered OutKast’s “Ms. Jackson” and closed with an encore that included new track “Way Out,” “The Exit,” off 2013’s Devil, and “This is Twice Now,” from Illuminate.

Jared & The Mills performs at The Chapel in San Francisco on Aug. 24, 2018.

Phoenix indie pop and rock quintet Jared & The Mill performed a set that ranged from power pop to folkier roots. Frontman Jared Kolesar controlled the stage with a dynamic presence throughout. This hybrid of folk and rock is a fun blend, not just for the audience but for the band onstage. Their set included “Still Alone” and “Keep me Going,” from their 2016 album, Orme Dugas, before the members of Lydia showed up on stage to share drinks with their friends.

Jared & the Mill closed with a forthcoming new single and their latest single, “Break the Ether,” which made the cuts for Tuesday Tracks in July.

Toronto indie pop band Cherry Pools opened the show with a set that modernized ’80s and ’90s synth-pop with newer elements, not unlike The 1975. It wasn’t revolutionary, but it was plenty of fun. Besides playing their best-known song, “Hollywood,” Cherry Pools covered Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer.”

Follow photographer Joaquin Cabello at Instagram.com/joaquinxcabello.