CMJ » Corinne Bagish

Diarrhea Planet @ Death By Audio: December 11, 2012

Corinne Bagish — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:18:55 +0000

Nashville’s six-piece garage punk outfit Diarrhea Planet (yes… Diarrhea Planet) seized the stage at Death By Audio this Tuesday night. And I do mean seized—this explosive set was nothing to shit on. Powered by four guitars and propelled by friendship, Diarrhea Planet seriously knows how to shred.

What might be even more exciting is what brings these Tennesseans to New York in the first place. They’re recording a new full-legnth with producer Kevin McMahon (credentials include Titus Andronicus and Liquor Store) and decided to schedule a tour around it. We can look forward to the album’s release sometime next year.

Accordingly, it’s a good time to be on planet diarrhea; the love on stage was practically tangible. The dudes of Diarrhea Planet (whose interests include pizza and different kinds of pizza) genuinely enjoy playing together and it shows. Songs like “Ghost With A Boner” (the lyrics of which are essentially “ghost with a boner/ghost with a bone/drinking my beer/drinking my beer”) scream good times and that there’s no need to take anything too seriously. At the same time, the group provides intense riffage and just enough pop to make songs dizzyingly anthemic and surprisingly visceral. The tone may be lighthearted, but the wall of big guitars is nothing to mess with.

The last of five bands (Hunters, Desert Sharks, Doris Gang and Skimask opened the show), Diarrhea Planet took the stage just before midnight. The set was a mix of new and old—crowd pleasers like “Warm Ridin’” had show-goers screaming along and even crowd surfing. The front line forcefield of guitarists, with singer Jordan Smith sandwiched in the middle, took turns leaping into the crowd and sharing their mics with the eager audience. A crowd-requested encore took place without gimmicky pretense—the band didn’t leave the stage before launching right back into the thick of it. When they finished, Diarrhea Planet and its audience were both drenched in sweat, sporting smiles the size of its big guitar sound.

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Tilly And The Wall – Heavy Mood

Corinne Bagish — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:43:02 +0000

After four years of no releases, Tilly And The Wall return with Heavy Mood on Conor Oberst’s Team Love. But it’s a misleading title: Tilly packs the usual whoa-ohs and choruses sung in unison, so at no point in the album is the mood heavy.

In fact, unlike their Omaha-based peers (see: Saddle Creek gang), Tilly And The Wall are not known for their moodiness. Tap-dancing percussion (no exaggeration here) and cheeky electronics have always instilled a lighthearted feel to Tilly’s buoyant indie pop. Accordingly, Heavy Mood‘s raucous opener, “Love Riot,” is explosive in a very Tilly way—almost like 2008 single “Pot Kettle Black.” The title track comes next and keeps the energy strong with a pounding beat and electronic, highly danceable weirdness.

It’s good to see that Tilly And The Wall have stayed true to themselves through years of so many changes. Between 2008′s O and Heavy Mood, the Tilly family has grown: Three members (Derek Pressnall, Jamie Williams Pressnall, and Kianna Alarid Cameron) got married and had kids. On this album, the band has also expanded its extended family: Heavy Mood features fellow Omahans Clark Baechle from the Faint and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, as well as Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The third track, “All Kinds Of Guns,” takes a spin toward retro. A keen ’50s vibe comes to life through the wailing harmonies and clever lyrics like, “My baby’s got all kinds of guns/And he sticks to every one.” Like the last slow dance of the night at a sock hop, you don’t want this track to end. Luckily, it’s followed by “Static Expression,” a lush pop song with a pinch of tenderness. A rolling backbeat and the repeated line “We cannot stay this way forever” make this one just as memorable as its predecessor.

Midway through Heavy Mood, Tilly hits a lull; “Hey Rainbow” and “I Believe In You” just don’t pack the eclectic Tilly punch. They’re atmospheric and pretty, but these songs are very low key. Almost diluted, these tracks are missing the fierce fearlessness that’s been injected into the best parts of the album.

The pace picks back up with aggressively positive ender “Defenders.” This stay-true-to-yourself anthem of sorts is chanted and reinforced by a choir of kids. It makes an absolutely bold ending for this band that—through time off, marriage and babies—remains its boisterously quirky self.

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Lady Lamb The Beekeeper @ Grand Victory: June 16, 2012

Corinne Bagish — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:08:36 +0000

Tucked away at the Grand Victory, a healthy leap away from the madness of Northside Festival hub McCarren Park, the Hillytown Presents showcase had a more intimate feel.

One of the highlights came early as Lady Lamb The Beekeeper, aka singer-songwriter Aly Spaltro, took the stage just after 6 p.m. Lady Lamb made her presence known immediately with an a capella opener. Standing up there, small and shifting in her blue sneakers, her sound was unexpectedly large; her deep voice—strong and expressive—was more than enough to seize the room. The lack of frills in this first song showed just what her voice was capable of. It could be fluttery, positively pretty at one moment and take the form of an anguished yowl the next. This first number was a tad long-winded, but Lady Lamb didn’t run out of steam.

Armed with just an electric guitar for the rest of her set, Lady Lamb The Beekeeper tucked theatrics into every note, the intensity deliberate and real. Lady Lamb faced each hyper-personal song head on, bringing the show-goers with her through each soul-bearing verse. Although she made herself so vulnerable, never once did she seem fearful, and not once did she hesitate. She was brazenly honest, and that made the girl and her guitar more than enough.

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Miike Snow @ Terminal 5: April 24, 2012

Corinne Bagish — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:33:49 +0000

Photo by Masha Kandybin

Swedish indie-pop trio Miike Snow (Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg and vocalist Andrew Wyatt) took the Terminal 5 stage on Tuesday night donning gold masks. It was the first of three sold-out NYC nights, part of Miike Snow’s Happy To You tour—kicked off at Coachella—celebrating the band’s most recent release.

The three, crowded tiers of T5 weren’t particularly conducive to dancing, but that didn’t stop people from trying. There were high schoolers in plaid, there were heels and highlights, even a few suits, evidence of Miike Snow’s mass appeal. It’s no wonder: Karlsson and Winnberg have collaborated with mainstream pop giants like Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue.

The set was a mix of old and new, and songs like “Black And Blue” off of the band’s 2009 self-titled debut were met by mass cheering and fumbled sing-alongs. Though many of these songs weren’t new, the way they were presented was. Electro tweaks, slowed tempos, extended vocals and smatterings of electronic ambiance were peppered throughout these fan favorites. “Silvia,” for example, featured a drawn-out psychedelic ending.

There was a noticeable lack of chatter and pretense. Onstage banter was virtually non-existent; Andrew Wyatt addressed the crowd briefly and rarely. The encore, including “Animal,” started a mere minute or so after Miike Snow finished its “last song.” Miike Snow gave the crowd what it wanted, and the watchers celebrated with whatever miniature dance moves the space could accommodate.

Photos by Masha Kandybin

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Q&A: Cursive’s Tim Kasher

Corinne Bagish — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:00:36 +0000

Tim Kasher as backseat driver - Photo by Tony Bonacci

At the top of the dingy green-carpeted stairs on a late afternoon in the sun-soaked Bowery Ballroom, CMJ sat down with Cursive frontman Tim Kasher. Later that evening, Cursive would play to a sold-out crowd at Bowery for the second night in a row. The band’s current tour is in support of Cursive’s February LP release, I Am Gemini, a concept album detailing the story of good and evil twin brothers.

Kasher told us just why he approached the new album as he did and warned of the dangers of dorkdom.

You’ve mentioned that you “had the feeling” you wanted to write about schizophrenia in I Am Gemini. Were you writing about anyone’s experience with schizophrenia or just the idea of it?
Um, I guess my own. I mean, I’m certainly not schizophrenic, but I think that we all have some level of multiple personality disorder. That’s certainly something that I always get pretty frustrated with and have dealt with. I remember dealing with it since I was young, since I was a little boy. But I think that’s just us grappling with like—without sounding kind of crazy—those voices in your head that are always kind of battling each other.

You seem to have a thing for horror and the macabre: creepy sideshow carnivals, Frankenstein monsters, haunted houses. What attracts you to these?
I think stuff like that is kind of fun. It’s tricky because it’s such a slippery slope, you know? I think a great example is like Nightmare Before Christmas. Like it’s a really great movie, but it also fits so snugly into Hot Topic. And I think somebody like Dresden Dolls too, I really love Dresden Dolls, but I can certainly recognize how—I mean, I’m being rude—I realize how nerdy their crowd can likely be. But they probably see that too. I just have an attraction to the gothic, and therein lies kind of like the sideshow mentality as well. So I dunno, I feel like you just kind of grow up with stuff like that. I am a big horror fan. I think it’s all kind of dorky, but I also find it kind of romantic to write about, so I try to kind of toe that line and make sure that it doesn’t become too…dorky. [Laughs]

The I Am Gemini liner notes are so visual, complete with stage direction. Think these will guide any music videos that you might have for tracks on this album?
I had a lot of daydreams while I was writing it to initially really like set production in motion and try to get something made. I made a point to kind of like put a halt on all of those daydreams because I wanted to make sure that the record was done correctly. Now that I’m on the other side of it all, it goes back to the dorkiness of gothic material, and I would be slightly horrified I think to see how stuff like that would turn out.

Some of the criticism surrounding I Am Gemini says your intent isn’t clear, it’s not relatable. Do you have a response to that?
No, I think that that’s all there. It’s all concerns that I’ve had. So counter to that, it’s been nice that people also have been following it really well, so that’s good. In researching to write it, I read librettos, operatic librettos, and I couldn’t follow them at all, you know, I didn’t know what the story was, I didn’t know what was going on. So, I tried pretty hard to make it cohesive, but I also reedited it. I didn’t want to like spell it out for dumbshits. I think it could have been spelled out better, but it also would have been less tasteful. Point being is, yeah, that was a major concern I’ve had, and it doesn’t really bother me that people feel that way. And also, frankly, if you’re going to read through it once and then say, “That’s not going to work,” it’s not that it doesn’t work. I think maybe I might offer a little bit of defense and say, “You have to read it more than once.” [Laughs] But you know, absolutely fair enough. I’m always open for criticism.

I mean, anything’s going to get criticism.
Yeah, especially when you do something like this. It’s not going to be right for everybody, and that’s really OK. I’m just kind of hoping it will for others.

You guys play “The Martyr” every night on tour. Are there songs you enjoy playing live more than others? Does anything from I Am Gemini make it onto that list?
I really get a kick of playing “Birthday Bash.” I think it’s a fairly traditional song in the way it works, and it’s traditional for a reason; it’s kind of like a driving story. So I find that kind of fun. I think that I certainly have much more interest in songs that kind of tell a story versus thoughts and ideas, though those are all absolutely fine too.

A while back it occurred to me that there are songs that you kind of have to play every night. In a way you’re kind of—well, I’m sure this is not the case for all artists—I kind of agree with the listeners, like “OK, I can see, I guess this is one of the better songs.” So I don’t mind playing it every night, and also there’s the whole concept of playing off the audience. So even though we play “Art Is Hard” and “The Martyr” every single night, it’s like still, they get real excited about it. It’s kind of fun.

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Cursive @ Bowery Ballroom: April 4, 2012

Corinne Bagish — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:17:32 +0000

Photo by Masha Kandybin

As Cursive took the stage Wednesday night, the sold-out Bowery Ballroom pulsed with eerie sound effects, transforming it into a living, breathing haunted house. Enigmatic frontman Tim Kasher kneeled to toy with the reverb, tweaking echos and prolonging notes to ease the crowd into “This House Alive,” the first song off new release I Am Gemini.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Cursive’s newest effort tells the tale of a struggle between newly reunited good and evil twin brothers. The liner notes are written as a libretto, complete with stage direction, a full cast of characters and an intricate plot extending from track one to the finish. Appropriately, Kasher’s theatrics when performing songs from I Am Gemini were noticeably amplified. Lively romp “Cat And Mouse” was accented by exaggerated facial expressions and wacky vocals steeped in character. Kasher’s playful approach to “Drunken Birds” was similarly embellished.

Although songs from I Am Gemini were sprinkled in with a heavy hand, the night saw a decent amount of old favorites. Cursive made sure to stack the setlist with old-school crowd-pleasers like “Gentleman Caller” off of 2003′s The Ugly Organ and “The Martyr” from 2000′s Domestica, Kasher belting out the high notes. A slowed, dreamy version of “The Recluse” charmed showgoers, and “We’re Going To Hell,” prefaced by Kasher’s comments, “This one’s weird…lull you all to sleep and then take all your souls,” amped them up.

The onstage banter was kept to a minimum, except for a quick foray into Kasher’s day in New York: He went to see a horror flick. According to Kasher, “The scariest part was that it was just me and my popcorn and my soda, and some weird lurker man sat like two rows behind me.” When the credits rolled, the “lurker” was nowhere to be found.

On a totally non-scary, non-scarring note, the night ended with a particularly fun encore. Kasher climbed up on an amp, and “Art Is Hard” was melded with TLC’s “No Scrubs.” And, as the show started with the first song of I Am Gemini, it ended with the last, “Eulogy For No Name.”

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Cursive – I Am Gemini

Corinne Bagish — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:30:54 +0000

Concept album I Am Gemini is the seventh release from Cursive during the band’s 15-plus-year existence. Fans who have been there for the whole shebang will be glad to know that the Omaha indie rockers have still got it—and are cozying up to their pre-Mama I’m Swollen sounds. Riddled with unsettling layers and jarring hooks, I Am Gemini is more in line with 2003’s The Ugly Organ than Cursive’s more recent efforts. These same fans will be glad to know that it’s similarly heavy hitting; every note has meaning, there is no fat to be trimmed.

Plotwise, I Am Gemini is unlike any other Cursive creation. Instead of relying on sullen introspection, frontman Tim Kasher projects outward; the story weaved is cohesive and standalone. The progression tells the story of reunited twin brothers Cassius and Pollock; Cassius is good, and Pollock is evil, or maybe they are two sides of one. The album takes the form of a psychiatrically unstable Greek tragedy, complete with a chorus of angels and devils—and a pair of conjoined twins to boot.

In opener “This House Alive,” Kasher’s voice, or rather Cassius’s as indicated by the liner notes (be sure to arm yourself with them), emerges sleepily from discordant echoes that build into rolling layers. Pollock’s voice, also played by Kasher, opens the second song, “Warmer Warmer,” with a markedly different vibe. Chaotic, predatory and aggressive, Cursive makes it crystal clear both lyrically and musically that this character has a dark agenda. At the same time, this song is incredibly catchy with plenty of pop hook—a definite standout track.

In the thick of the story, “Wowowow” is possibly the most successful number. Scratchy, abrasive guitar licks and multiple voices accentuate the haunted carnival angle that Cursive mastered in The Ugly Organ. Eerie keys and pretty, wistful female vocals—those of the conjoined twins—break up the abrasive, deranged ride.

Every so often it’s difficult to separate Kasher’s heady lyrics from the songs themselves. With each song an act in a larger play, it seems like tracks are used to get from one place to another in the plot without always taking how they might sound out of context into account. “Birthday Bash” for example doesn’t have a clear-cut chorus. Repeated guitar licks/chord progressions stand in, making for a more abstract, less catchy structure than is typical of Cursive. That being said, lyrically, this track is integral to the larger story; it serves a definite, larger purpose.

Kasher executes the final song, “Eulogy For No Name,” in a flat, dropped tone, building up to an explosive final chorus. Cursive concludes the story of Cassius and Pollock while still throwing us those clever and grim one-liners that we so love to hang on to: “A twin star, burst into being/Splattered on the orphanage ceiling.”

“Eulogy For No Name” characterizes the album’s place within the larger scheme of all that is Cursive. A classic wailing Kasher chorus and intricately dark, clever lyrics remind us of what has been. Positioned within the structure of a cohesive, separate story, these elements take on a new (non-self-indulgent) meaning. I Am Gemini marks a brave and experimental turn in a new direction, but at the same time it’s a nod to the old—in the best and least wallowing way.

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Windish Showcase @ Mercury Lounge: October 21, 2011

Corinne Bagish — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:29:18 +0000

Cuckoo Chaos - Photo by Corinne Bagish

Cuckoo Chaos of San Diego had an interesting Friday in New York City. It found an abandoned purse in Central Park, nearly got arrested for attempting to return said purse and then proceeded to play Windish’s showcase at Mercury Lounge. Despite this law debacle, Cuckoo Chaos managed to put on a gentle performance chock full of high-reaching notes, fluttery guitar and harmonies reminiscent of Simon And Garfunkel. Bursts of effects spiced up the set, breaking up a mostly clean performance. A faulty guitar jack was the only issue in an otherwise smooth set.

Electric Guest - Photo by Corinne Bagish

Electric Guest was next. Although petite frontman Asa Taccone encouraged the crowd to dance, he himself supplied more than enough groove factor to fill the room. Armed with nothing but the occasional tambourine, Taccone supplied skilled, impassioned vocals to retro romantic indie pop—with a self-aware sense of humor. “Hey it’s an intimate moment…it’s just us,” Taccone whispered to the sizable crowd.

Gauntlet Hair - Photo by Corinne Bagish

Gauntlet Hair braved the stage short a guitar player. It appropriately opened with “Keep Time,” the first track off of the band’s self-titled debut album. Gauntlet Hair’s sound was a bit compromised; layers didn’t translate as well sans the extra strings, and nuances were swallowed in large, tinny sound. The band deserved a little slack though, as this was Gauntlet Hair’s second set of the day. Despite probable exhaustion (remember CMJ is a marathon, not a sprint) Gauntlet Hair persevered much to the crowd’s delight.

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Windish Showcase @ Pianos: October 19, 2011

Corinne Bagish — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:46:56 +0000

Little Red - Photo by Corinne Bagish

Australian outfit Little Red brought a smooth, melodic and prompt start to Wednesday’s Windish Showcase at Pianos. Funky and thoughtful little touches—harmonica intros, pipe organ effects—were integrated seamlessly, almost organically, into the set.

Cloud Nothings followed. Punky lo-fi accented with lots of feedback was pumped up by frontman Dylan Baldi’s brazen shredding. Cloud Nothings made sure to play around with the music. It slowed down, sped up and went into discordant noise for contemplation. This noise came off as slightly spooky and mainly slow moving, but it was not at all lacking in intensity. Songs with pop hooks stood out: Cloud Nothings seemed particularly confident in executing these numbers.

Duo Exitmusic performed as a four-piece and refocused the tone to a somber, acute level. A whispering onset of ringing made resonant indie darkness accessible to a completely packed room. Lead vocalist Aleksa Palladino had a commanding presence softened by delicate details (breathy accents, shyness when she asked for less guitar). Understated electronic elements added ghostly traces.

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Secret Mountains, Sex With Strangers, Old Monk @ Trash Bar

Corinne Bagish — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:18:55 +0000

Old Monk

Secret Mountains kicked off the showcase at Williamsburg’s Trash Bar around 8 p.m. on the first night of CMJ. Spacey instrumentals paired with clear, defiant vocals set off flighty effects and dreamy weightless hooks. This five-piece proved capable of packing emotion in an understated way—heightened pitch and accelerated tempo assembled into a quiet force.

After a Black Flag-filled interlude, Vancouver’s extremely animated Sex With Strangers took the stage, and wacky antics ensued. Frontman Hatch Benedict proceeded to rub his own chest and don a silver cat mask. Female vocalists emitted extraneous grunts and oohs amid electro soundbytes. Although its sound was inconsistent (Sex With Strangers opened with heavy rock, threw in some groove and tossed about synth) it almost made sense given the strange performance. “New City Anthem” closed out the set on a pop note.

Old Monk came third. This indie-rock trio played it barebones, accentuating chilled-out playful beats with heavy bass. Soft-spoken but undaunted, vocalist Josh Carrafa had noticeable fun tossing out melodic verses to the crowd. Peppy tunes riddled with rambling rock splices kept it interesting.

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Zola Jesus – Conatus

Corinne Bagish — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:00:49 +0000

Conatus is another example of Nika Roza Danilova aka Zola Jesus doing what she does best. She’s able to weave dark, seemingly tangible labyrinth-like spaces through haunting vocals and eerie atmospheric instrumentals, her voice the sole guiding light in an inky, enveloping world. While she plays to her moody strengths, this album doesn’t stray far from her similarly moody past material, particularly last year’s full-length, Stridulum II. The only discernible change is a more realized pop element injected into certain songs.

That being said, the first three tracks really highlight the darkness that Jesus has proven herself so adept at creating. “Swords,” a brief electro intro, features resonating vocals that are indistinct but have definite presence, like shapes moving underwater. “Avalanche” is slow moving, heavy-hitting and mournful, not unlike a funeral dirge. Teeming with familiar sounds, this track was unsurprisingly reconfigured from an old demo. Third up, “Vessel” really utilizes the synth as a driving force. Granular crawling electronic touches make this number unsettling, verging on spooky.

Subsequent pop number “Hikikomori” is where we start to see some progression on Jesus’ part. Her throaty voice packs emotion and adds depth to dreamlike synth pop. This track is a prime example of how she’s further honed the craft of subterranean pop since her last release—the gloomy mold has been stretched to include more hook and melody. Intense layering paired with this newfound warmth makes Jesus’ weighty songs more accessible.

Another standout, “Lick The Palm Of The Burning Handshake,” similarly emphasizes how pop is a stronger, more present ingredient in Conatus than ever before. This number is booming and bold, not to mention oddly catchy. The track tapers off with rich vocals that are slowly stripped of instrumental backing.

Towards the end of the album, tracks tend to blend into each other. Jesus definitely continues to push what she’s good at, but this doesn’t make for much variety. Certain elements are used repeatedly—echoing vocals, gothic synth, electronic accents. It’s easy to find yourself ahead of where you thought in Conatus. While this may very well be just a part of Zola Jesus’ disorienting magic, it seems that her brand of darkness is best complemented by a little light.

Zola Jesus plays the Knitting Factory on Tuesday, October 18 and Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, October 19 as part of CMJ Music Marathon 2011.

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Shark? And Friends @ Fort Useless: September 24, 2011

Corinne Bagish — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:00:17 +0000

Photo by Jeremy Cook

Small in size and devoid of the grunginess that is typically paired with DIY spaces, Bushwick’s Fort Useless has been a haven for local musicians and artists since its inception and celebrated its two-year anniversary on Saturday night.

Weird Children kicked off the celebratory show with energy. Punchy indie pop with a smattering of punk kept the crowd swaying and engaged, and choruses belted out in unison built intensity and plentiful whoa-ohs kept it fun. Uninhibited stage banter drew laughter from around the room, transforming Weird Children’s set into a multi-level performance.

Usually a four-piece, Gold Streets was a five-piece for the night. Jeremiah McVay, the man behind all that is Fort Useless, hopped on auxiliary percussion, pounding on a rack tom and switching to the main drum kit at times. Atmospheric interludes built up melodic indie psych with a keen focus on instrumentals. Drummer/vocalist T. Almy’s juxtaposition of tight beats and floaty crooning was particularly impressive.

Unsacred Hearts weaved elements of punk, garage, and blues into a sneering rock ‘n’ roll front. Rollicking singalong anthems provoked a mini-mosh pit.

Headliner Shark? dished out hazy rolling lo-fi with plenty of hook to an eager crowd. Clear enthusiasm and humor made for a stand out performance.

When all was said and done, a sense of community lingered. Showgoers shared cheap beers, bands patted each other on the back post-set. When asked how this two-year journey has all panned out, McVay happily commented, “It’s exceeded my expectations. It’s been embraced by a lot of people—a lot of the right people.”

All photos below by Jeremy Cook

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CSS – La Liberacion

Corinne Bagish — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:00:39 +0000

The Brazilian dance-heavy new-wavers of CSS have still got it. And by it, I mean an unapologetic and mischievous brand of raw dance-pop-fueled vigor. However, the band’s third studio album, La Liberacion, brings this energy in glimpses, not in full force.

Admittedly fun but rarely clever lyrics plus a pocket of lagging songs make for a hot-and-cold album. The first track, “I Love You,” opens with high intensity, traveling down a rave-y rabbit hole, complete with Auto-Tune. This starts as a good thing, but the excitement tapers off almost as soon as it begins, and the song remains flat until its non-climactic ending.

With single “Hits Me Like A Rock,” CSS once again attests to that love of and addiction to music that fueled 2006’s “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex.” The song is similarly successful; addictive oh ohs build up into a floaty, nonchalant but perfectly sugary chorus. Guest vocals by Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie mellow the pop, preventing the song from becoming cloying.

Sultry Spanish guitar kicks off “City Grrl,” the album’s third track. With frontlady Lovefoxxx’s initial snarl, the song makes an instantaneous 180-degree turn into a sexy snarling disco romp. Lyrics are cliché verging on cheesy, but CSS unapologetically owns the bulk of it, even lines like “Don’t live your life, girl, unless it’s just like a movie.”

The album’s weakest point begins with “Partners In Crime,” a strange sort of demure love letter. Mildly wistful piano paired with unoriginal, monotone lyrics drag this track down into mediocrity. It lacks vibrancy and is devoid of the rambunctious electric bad assery that CSS in its best form shoves forth. The contrast is especially apparent due to the song’s unfortunate placement after the firecracker title track, a guitar-heavy punk number. Two similarly nondescript songs follow, marking a distinct trough in La Liberacion.

Toward the end of the album, “Red Alert,” a relaxed number complemented by breathy choruses, brings redemption, rounding out another hot point. Ratatat adds chiming backbeats, further strengthening the track. Despite its inconsistencies, La Liberacion undoubtedly mixes it up.

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Andrew W.K., Cherie Lily @ Santos: August 3, 2011

Corinne Bagish — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:00:05 +0000

Chaotic vibe of the show as captured by Corinne Bagish

If anyone knows how to bring the party, it’s unarguably Andrew W.K.. If there’s any location most conducive to partying, it would of course have to be his nightclub. Finally, if there’s a reason to party (as if it New York needs one), it would be to celebrate AWK’s first solo show of the year within said city.

Opening act Cherie Lily (AWK’s wife) strutted on stage sporting a pink zebra print leotard. A whirlwind of aerobics and neon glitter, her brand of dance-heavy pop was amplified by similarly attired backup dancers and a ribbon routine. Aleister X‘s aesthetic was quite different. Overtly (even comically) sexual lyrics, face paint and pulsating bass made for a bizarre Euro clubbing vibe.

Crowd surfing began even before AWK kicked off his set. The boundary between stage and floor became seamless once his pop metal began to fill the room. Show goers climbed steps to crowd the edge of the stage—which was good for those who fought their way up there, but not so good for everyone else trying to see over them. Midway through, Cherie Lily joined him to provide backup vocals. Favorites like “I Love New York City” and “We Want Fun” came one after another as the crowd chanted along, “We want to have fun and we want to get wasted!”. And wasted some were; girls fell on top of each other on the stage trying to pose with AWK for pictures during the set.

The lineup made it clear that unlike most, this show wasn’t about a particular music genre or a specific scene, which was refreshing and different. This show was about having a good time, and in true party spirit, whatever made a good time possible was fair game.

Were you at this show? Win a CMJ badge by posting your photos and review at SuperGlued.

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Matt And Kim @ Terminal 5: June 29, 2011

Corinne Bagish — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:30:34 +0000

Photos by Silvia Lobo.

Brooklyn’s own Matt And Kim was elated to be back in the five boroughs. Also, maybe just elated in general. Drummer Kim Schifino’s unbelievably wide smile was a permanent fixture in Terminal 5 this Wednesday night from the moment she walked on stage until the moment she exited.

The duo pulled wasted no time plunging into their happy dance tinged brand of pop punk, opening with “Block After Block” followed by “Good Old Fashioned Nightmare.” All the fan favorites emerged one by one, and the crowd loved all of it.

Matt And Kim’s performance was fun. How could it not be? All the bells and whistles were out—from the lyric displaying lights to the backdrop showcasing the classically tacky vinyl siding adorned “architecture” characteristic of some Brooklyn neighborhoods—also the cover of newest release Sidewalks.

On top of that, the performance was peppered by dancey musical interludes. “(Do You Think You’re) Better Off Alone” and “Just A Friend” served as transitions between songs and the crowd eagerly filled in the lyrics. When things seemingly couldn’t get anymore entertaining, balloons printed with Kim’s face were distributed to the sweaty masses. The punchy carnival-esque intro to “It’s A Fact” amped up this balloon action as blue, pink, red and yellow rubber flew everywhere.

Yes, it was all very fun. This is not to say that a question didn’t pass through this cynical New Yorker’s mind: Could this fun all be so incredibly genuine? Especially amid the elaborate props and the flashing lights. Were the entertainers in this sold-out venue (sold-out for 3 months, I might add) really and truly so gratefully giddy? Could they be so genuinely happy? I sure hope so. Regardless, the chorus from Matt And Kim’s “Lightspeed,” look at me now, had never rung so true.

After a two-song encore, during which Kim reappeared harnessed with a marching band drum, the show ended. Colorful rubber littered the floor as show-goers left the venue. Crowd goers still seemed energized but Kim’s face must have been sore from all that smiling.

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