During my coverage of the CMJ Music Marathon 2014, I had the pleasure of being introduced to this Toot Sweet‘s (extremely fun) groove-tunes in a live setting; the band caught me completely off-guard. Their music oscillates seamlessly between the lighthearted and carefree, pained romanticism and everything in between, all with the nostalgic tone of an age lost to most modern culture, but with a euphoric freshness that instills new relevance and desire for such original songwriting. I had a chance to reach out to the band’s front lady Mary Spencer Knapp, to ask a few questions about her band, her influences, and her accordion. It seems rare that a modern day band beckons the sound and feel of such a distant and specific place and time, that it makes you question age or origin. Or at least when done as well as NYC’s Toot Sweet, who play a mean funk-infused cabaret style of pop, quite the drastic change from the 90’s revival everybody’s been talking about.
LINKS: Read JP Basileo’s interview with Toot Sweet
UPCOMING SHOWS: Live at The Gutter on Friday 01.23 with Ghostpal, the Brooklyn What, Goodman, NoPop & Awkwarium.