BEST THING ABOUT BEING IN A BAND IN NYC: “A lot of the music stores in town have some amazing gear.”
AND THE WORST: “Having to carry it on the train.”
Alright, I’ve got to be honest about this one. When I first heard This Is Ivy League’s song ‘London Bridges’ I thought to myself, “Seriously, I don’t care who these guys are. They could turn out to be dog-killing, racist homophobes, and I’d still include them on this year’s list of eight bands.” It was that good, playing into my love of Simon & Garfunkel, Belle and Sebastian and bossa nova all at the same time, with a melody that I’ve sung to myself probably every day since I heard it. But then I did some research and learned that the band’s two members, Alex Suarez and Ryland Blackinton (!), are also members of Cobra Starship, an emo band you’ve probably seen during the closing credits of your favorite MTV show. This, I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit, gave me great pause. Then I listened to a few more of their songs and decided I couldn’t, in good conscience, not include a band this good just because they do this other thing that a bunch of high-school kids love. They just released their self-titled full-length debut, and it’s full of songs that are even better than ‘London Bridges’. With the demanding schedule Cobra Starship is keeping these days, they don’t have a ton of time to dedicate to This Is Ivy League, but that doesn’t mean the record can’t still be the soundtrack to your summer.
Photo by Zandy Mangold
FORMED: January 2007
FAVORITE NYC VENUE: Sound Fix
BEST THING ABOUT BEING IN A BAND IN NYC: “The inspiration of being around so much good music and the bustle and feel of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Venues and audiences are great too.”
AND THE WORST: “No forests or wild animals.”
There’s a constant battle going on in indie-rock circles, between proponents of a bare-bones approach, who argue that rock and roll is most appealing in its most stripped-down format, and those who will be limited only by the number of musician friends they can scrape up. You’ve all seen bands of late, with eight or ten people cramped together on a small, crowded stage — such a large group that you instinctively think maybe you’d like to be a part of it too. This is precisely the kind of vibe given off by La Strada — only you’re probably not nearly talented enough to be part of it. Led by singer and accordionist James Craft, the band, which features seven members, makes an awful lot of noise. Accordion, cello, violin, viola, bass, guitars, drums… it’s a lot to take in. They will instantly win over fans of Beirut’s first record, with their similarly indie-influenced take on Balkan folk music, and while it almost seems cheap at this point, those of you who really, really wish there was a new Neutral Milk Hotel record will probably find something here as well. They’re working on a new EP at the moment, on which we assume they will prove once again that tons of people playing relatively quiet instruments can make just as much noise as a few people playing through Marshall half-stacks.
Photo by Zandy Mangold
FORMED: 2005
FIRST NYC VENUE PLAYED: “Our first show was on a friend’s warehouse rooftop that summer.”
BEST THING ABOUT BEING IN A BAND IN NYC: “The best thing is getting to play on rooftops!”
AND THE WORST: “The worst is not getting to play on rooftops anymore!”
Among the many micro-scenes always popping up here in the city is the one promoter-extraordinaire Todd P has been carefully constructing for the past couple years. The bands he books at a revolving group of here-today-gone-tomorrow venues typically fall on the noisier side of the spectrum, inspiring lots and lots of dancing and flailing about by very, very sweaty people. Usually it’s not our thing, but we’ve got a pronounced weakness for Team Robespierre, a Brooklyn-based five-piece with more energy than we could ever imagine having. They’ve been playing shows for a couple years, and people are going understandably batty for their maddening mix of hardcore, punk, post-punk and electro-pop. Their songs incorporate driving, frantic guitars, fuzzy, swirling keyboard hooks, a hyper-active rhythm section and vocal contributions from just about everyone in the band. More chanted than sung, they practically beg for audience participation, and, more often than not, they are dutifully obliged, once and for all putting an end to the idiotic myth that crowds in New York City are joyless and boring. Their debut full-length, Everything’s Perfect, was released earlier this year, and by all means you should own it. But even more importantly, you’ll want to see them live.
