Cymbals Eat GuitarsGo to enough shows and you’ll hear numerous folks say something to the effect of “I like them better live.” Express skepticism about a up-and-coming band and one might hear their defenders say, “Oh, well have you seen them live?”
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.
