I’m not really into the whole folky-southern-soft rock thing but decided, in the spirit of good music and CMJ, I would check out the Chapin Sister. Just to give a little back up story, the two lead singers, AKA the sisters themselves, are the beautiful, waify offspring of three time Grammy winner singer-songwriter, Tom Chapin (if that’s any indication of their musical chops). Their sound is soothing, subtle and ethereally sincere. Though there were points in which the songs came off just a little country for my liking, I really enjoyed their short set, which was infused with soft textures and very pretty vocals. – Alex Vann
Midnight Spin, Quintet, Mercury Lounge,
“Welcome to CMJ,” the leade singer said right before plunging us into the Brooklyn-based band’s brand of power pop and rock, riding on the heels of Fang Island’s ultra-concentrated layered sound, the kind of rock that would be comfortable on the playlist of either a 12-18 or 40-60 y/o (BIG selling point, as those seem to be the only age brackets buying records these days!). Pure viscera. As hard as these guys are trying to rock, they are actually quite controlled, with leading dynamics on the drums. It sounds like John Dolmayan on the drums with melodrama on the guitars, a cushy synth, driving bass lines and warm harmonies circling the entire fray.
Luluc, Duo, The Living Room
This black-clad genial pair do flawless harmonies that keep their lead performer in the spotlight through nuanced dynamics. Absolutely perfect tuning, which is worth note because of the old and beautiful, yet finicky instruments they choose. If I don’t mention Simon and Garfunkel I’m ridiculous. Similar in both sound – nylon guitar ostinatos with complimenting lead – and lyrical approach. Sheer and soft harmonies. Her voice carries so much presence. His is perfect match by be unremarkable. Luluc would be good music for road trips in greenery, black clad. Dude gets a solo, with the same kind of subtly that this music seeps in. The New York based band (Austrailian transplants) take up the topic of travel quite a bit, telling tales of road trips next to the very serious metaphor of real poetry. Absolutely stunning voices. Sounds replicated. Sounds perfect. She makes it look so effortless. – Luluc will play at the CMJ after party on 10.24 at Cyber PR Headquarters (389, 12th Street) – be there.
Ill Ease, Solo, Cakeshop
Ill Ease is the one-man dance-loop-poppy-repetitive-minimalism project of Brooklyn’s own Elizabeth Sharp. Sharp gets down and dirty with a towering stack of loops she makes live. Melodic movement is limited – it comes with the order and manner in which the loops get stacked. "I don’t know what I want, I don’t know what I like." She sings during her opener. Well, maybe that’s why she has to play everything. She makes a bass loop, puts that down, makes a guitar loop, puts that down, and then sits behind the kit while singing. It builds into this raucous guitar dude, then crashes back into this funk bass line, not exactly dependent on phrase… Although she probably knows exactly what’s she’s doing. Sassy vocals, relaxed, I don’t give a fuck, this is how I am attitude. Classic metal riffs without being derivative, trying to get folky a little. She actually has good technique on all of it!! Tone and control and tempo. Exploits the limits of the loops by murdering linear notions of time on top of the loop. Wow. Exuberant. And then sure enough, during the awesome “New York London Paris: "I don’t give a fuck." This made me smile and laugh and care about her a little bit too. Cause I think I gave a fuck.
Tonight (Wednesday October 10) Brooklyn Bowl will host The Deli’s flagship CMJ show with Bear Hands (who graced the cover of ourNYC mag’s 23rd issue), Keepaway (on the cover of our latest, 24th issue), Brahms and Oberhofer. These are definitely some of the most interesting emerging artists emerging from the NYC scene in 2009, playing in one of the best venues in NYC – we hope to see you there!
Alt Rockers from every corner of the world gathered in NYC for CMJ shouldn’t miss our Alt Rock show at Arlene’s Grocery this afternoon (10.20). Here’s the full lineup:
Atlantic/Pacific, signed to LA based No Sleep Records, will be performing at the label’s CMJ showcase at Party Expo on Wednesday 10.20. The Brooklyn based band plays hazy, discreet folk with sober psychedelic influences. "Sober" in this case means that the reverb dial is under control and the overall arrangement isn’t taken hostage by a crazy production – quite the opposite… We are digging the two songs available on their myspace page, this is what Brits call a "perfect hangover band" – yeah, in the UK that’s actually an established musical genre: "Hangover Music".
Murder Mystery boasts a quote from Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch on its MySpace page amid favorable lines from reviews in The New Yorker and The Village Voice. The king of twee says, “The kids will eat them up.” Whether or not the compliment was nabbed from someone coincidentally named Stuart Murdoch is irrelevant, because the statement still rings true. Murder Mystery is comprised of a set of siblings, Jeremy and Laura Coleman, who switch off vocal duties and two buds, Adam Fels and Graham Roberts. Together, they write songs that are not quite sickeningly twee, but have an endearing sense of innocence set to incredibly infectious hooks. These tunes would have made a killer John Hughes soundtrack with the ‘80s synths and sweet lyrics. After listening to Murder Mystery for the first time, I was convinced that they traveled back to the future to bring the sounds from the ‘80s in immaculate form, but there are modern touches that distinguish the band from being a mere throwback group. Eat up the quartet’s luscious tunes with the free downloads on its site. If you’re not going to The Deli’s showcase at The Living Room, which you should be at and we hope to see you there, you better be checking out Murder Mystery at Trash Bar on Thursday. They will be hitting the stage at 11 p.m. – Nancy Chow
Charlene Kaye is an charming and talented emerging NYC chanteuse that mixes jazz, folk and rock. The lady, together with her band "The Brilliant Eyes", has been working hard in the past few years and is finally getting noticed by a growing local audience. She just released this video directed by Saela Davis that our fatigued years – after our first night of CMJ "sonic pollution" – are really enjoying. See Charlene Kaye and the Brilliant Eyes play CMJ at Bar Matchless in Greenpoint on 10.21 or at the Googie’s Lounge above the Living Room on 10.23.
If at some point, during this CMJ madness, you were in desperate need for some warmth and "homeyness" in musical form, we recommend you head to one of the two Backwords‘ CMJ shows (at Sycamore in Ditmas Park on 10.22 and Kenny’s Castaway on 10.23.) This Brooklyn based band blends folky and old timey music with gentle psychedelic pop influences reminiscent of Flaming Lips and Grandaddy. Their music is soothing, but weirdly so, in a lo key, unassuming, almost bucolic kind of way. Brian Russ’ vocals sing stories full of wisdom through timeless melodies. These guys might not be the kind of band that gets hyped by the blogosphere or in Pitchforkshire, but they sure are doing something nobody else we are aware of is doing in NYC right now: unpretentious, mellow psych folk that speaks to the heart.
Songstress, vocalist, and keyboardist Lachi, and her band, Jamie Diaz (Bass), Andre Donatien (guitar), and Jimmy Fontanez (drums) combine their skills to generate an enchanting and airy style of piano-driven rock. Lachi distinguishes herself from a straightforward soul singer by adding exotic flair to her nuanced tone, channeling spiritual roots as she sings about beauty, determination, and human nature on the melancholy “ Ugly Girl,” syncopated “ Slow Down,” and haunting rock track, “ Dear Happiness,” from Lachi’ s self-titled, third album released this past summer. Album standout, “ We Can Fly” opens with robotic, muffled vocals and lo-fi recording quality which transition to uplifting clarity. Lachi offers an alternative to alternative rock, and her enthusiasm for her art is made clear through her impassioned performances. Lachi will be playing the CMJ Music Marathon at The Village Underground on October 23.- Meijin Bruttomesso
For the first time since its inception, this year The Deli has also booked some non-NYC artists for its CMJ showcases. The SF Bay Area is proud to be represented by wondeful "ambient-delic" group Blackbird Blackbird, who will play at The Delancey on 10.19 together with about a dozen of NYC artists including Living Days and The Rassle.
Reckless Sons will be gracing three different stages at this year’s CMJ Music Marathon, which makes perfect sense for a band that has appeal across a variety of NY boroughs. CMJ will be the band’s fourth appearance since their line-up reincarnation, as Matt Butler (vocals) and Anthony Stella (guitar) have been joined by Cass Dillon (guitar/vocals), Josh Pillbox (bass), and Hari Gangleberger (drums). In addition to the three new members and trey of CMJ shows, Reckless Sons have added a few new songs to their repertoire, including “One Step Further,” “Anything But the Truth,” and “She Forgives Me in the Morning.” Drawing influences from guitar-driven, Brit-rock idols and melding them with contemporary, alternative pop vibes, the quintet is in the process of recording a full-length album. In the meantime, check out Reckless Sons next week at Bowery Electric, Crash Mansion, and the McKibbin Lofts on October 19, 22, and 24, respectively.– Meijin Bruttomesso
New York’ s Jump Into the Gospel bounced into the electro-pop at The Studio at Webster Hall on October 13. Sandwiched between Dear Comrade and Diet Kong, Jump Into the Gospel was the “ hallelujah” moment of the night, bringing the evening to its peak with energetic, contagious rhythms, sleek synthesizers, and straight up good pop songs. Powered by Louis Epstein’ s staccato new wave/Brit-pop vocal cadence, JITG pushed through a non-stop set that included “ Humvee Mansion,” for which JITG has a brand new video, “ Photovoltaic,” that featured Epstein hopping up and down his falcetto vocal range atop heavy guitar riffs, bright, synth- driven “ Murder Me,” sing-song, rock track, “ Flagship,” and buzzing and bubbly “ Powerlines.” Some newer tracks, “ Original Fever,” “ St. John,” “ 20212,” and “ Even If We Die” are available for public consumption at live shows only, so be sure to catch Jump Into the Gospel on November 5 at Pianos. -Meijin Bruttomesso
