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Cymbals Eat Guitars
Obviously, these are not hard and fast opinions. Thursday night at the Black Cat, though, such sentiments rung particularly true for one band; but not so much the other.
For those introduced to indie rock through the sprawling guitar jams of Pacific Northwesterners Built to Spill and Modest Mouse, the rise of Big Apple quartet Cymbals Eat Guitars is a welcome thing. Their two lead singles -- Pitchfork-approved "Wind Phoenix" and "And the Hazy Sea" -- are terrific, multi-part melodic songs that retained both their power and cohesion in a sharp forty-minute set on the backstage. The latter of the two songs kicks off the band's debut LP -- it kicked off their set as well, with loads of confidence and finely-refined guitars.
It's funny how bands that come across as picky about their sound -- making specific requests about vocals in the monitors or something of the sort -- end up sounding the best. The Black Cat Backstage has its limits, but Cymbals Eat Guitars worked around them with aplomb. On wax, it sounds like the New Yorkers would have a couple guitarists in tow. But lead singer Joseph D'Agostino covers a wide array of sonic space with just one six-string, buoyed by bass parts that -- when they weren't buried in the mix -- were always clever and melodic. Truly, it's rare that I root for an indie rock band to stretch their songs past the six- and seven-minute marks, but count Cymbals Eat Guitars as that rare act. The band is at their best as they indulge a little bit and let the songs expand beyond their comfort zones. Even "Indiana," which could pass as twee-pop in the hands of another group, moves from rollicking mid-tempo to more off-kilter instrumental passages with ease.
D.C.'s own Title Tracks -- a band whose driving power-pop initially sparked my interest -- have very different aims. Owing a tremendous debt to the New Pornographers, they sped through nine songs in barely a half-hour. None were bad, a few were bouncy, and most featured good male/female harmonies and bright, ringing chords. But there wasn't a lot to hang your hat on. It'd be an improvement to see the band work their Elvis Costello and Marshall Crenshaw influences, using more of that tinny toy organ sound.
That said, the group's performance is by no means a lost cause, not even close: the set was finished with "Hello" and "Every Little Bit," two real gems that highlight former Georgie James and Q and Not U songwriter John Davis' significant abilities as a tunesmith. Title Tracks still only have a couple of singles to their name; it'll be interesting to see how their debut effort turns out. Mark us down as guessing they fare a little better on record than they did in this particularly hurried, one-note set.
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I didn't see it that way at all. CEG were a disappointment. I found that their recorded stuff was much more impressive than their live show at the Backstage.
I enjoyed both acts. Maybe if CEG gets big they can add a horn section to their live show eventually, because the horns on the record were the one thing I really missed.
I wonder if they ever regret their choice of band name though.