“Lose,” the latest LP from Cymbals Eat Guitars—a band name culled from a Lou Reed quote describing the Velvet Underground’s blaring sound—begins with a carnivalesque run of keyboard notes and a reference to Klonopin taken to deal with relationship angst.
Singer Joseph D’Agostino carries a classic emo croon into territory more textural and measured than the genre his lilt suggests. The juxtaposition between CEG’s teensy energy and their adult knack for a barn-burning, shape-shifting, category-blurring number is what makes them compelling. D’Agostino screams primal things from each nook of the pristine, thoughtfully produced landscapes his band creates.
Seamlessly mixing the twee with the angry, the Staten Island natives charge down reroutes of paths forged by Modest Mouse, Built To Spill and other superstars of their sound from the other side of the country. If you want rock ‘n’ roll that leaves you delightfully puzzled about where you stand in time, Cymbals has it. (John Wilmes)
Saturday, September 20 at Schubas Tavern, 3159 North Southport, 10pm, $14. 18+.
Heart of Darkness: A Brief History of Chicago Industrial—Part One The bastardization of EBM, house and synthpop infiltrated suburban homes and Billboard charts. Bands like Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly were unexpected MTV stars and the scene spread worldwide
