I’ve recently returned from a holiday in New York. Except it wasn’t really much of a holiday, because it (semi-coincidentally) coincided with CMJ. Which is like New York’s version of South By Southwest. Which meant that in my nine days there, I ended up watching a fair few bands. I even travelled there with one. And one-third of one. I wish I was still there now, to be honest, but as I’m not, I’ll just write about the groups that impressed me most.
Tall Ships
This was the band that flew over on the same flight, who are signed to a friend’s record label. But this isn’t just about nepotism – the Brighton-based trio played a number of showcases over our time there, ably demonstrating the intellectual and emotional reach of their intricate songs. Detached yet emotive, complex yet straight-forward, they mix looped, minimal electronics with bursts of more organic, polyrhythmic noise, but always make difficult ideas accessible and exciting.
http://thepeopleofthisplace.blogspot.com
The Xcerts
Also on the same flight was the singer of The Xcerts (the one-third of a band), Murray Macleod. He too had a number of showcase gigs, stripping back his band’s usually urgent, forceful dynamics and recasting them into a softer, more nuanced form. That said, the power of their songs was not diminished in the slightest, the ferocious melancholy that usually permeates them as stirring and evocative as ever.
http://www.thexcertsband.com
We Are Augustines
A trio from Brooklyn, We Are Augustines are like Arcade Fire being haunted by the looming spectre of Nick Cave. Which is to say their songs are epic, spiralling narratives full of drama and trembling, tremulous tension. Hooks repeat and continue, building a sense of heartache intensely until they sound like brittle bones about to shatter in a torrent of repressed emotions – sadness and loss and regret and wishful thinking all rolled into one to create a soundscape of beautiful dejection.
http://weareaugustines.com
Aficionado
This seven-piece, who hail from Albany, NY, create vivid, intelligent and exuberant music full of verve and energy and did just that when they played at CMJ. There’s a distinct comparison with alternative rockers Cursive to be made, mainly due to the similarity of Aficionado singer Nick Warchol’s vocals to Tim Kasher’s urgent, drunken, desperate drawl, but the layers of instrumentation (there’s even a flautist!) create something altogether unique and really rather wonderful.
http://aficionado.bandcamp.com
The Mezingers
Though not strictly part of CMJ, The Menzingers headlined a show across the water in New Jersey. Catchy punk rock in the vein of, say, The Gaslight anthem or Against Me!, they infuse their impassioned anthems with plenty of uplifting energy that, meaning that while their songs often address the darker, sadder things in life, they remain buoyant and positive. Boasting some of the best singalong choruses recorded in the last year, their second album, Chameberlain Waits burns with an irrepressible fire full of spirit and hope.
www.facebook.com/themenzingers
Mischa Pearlman is a music journalist living in London, who writes for a bunch of music magazines such as The Fly, Kerrang!, Clash, Record Collector and Alternative Press. He does this purely for the love and less frequently for the money, and is always hoping to fall in love with his next favourite band so he can tell you about it.
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