Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen 24/02/10
In possession of one of the coolest band names around, Cymbals Eat Guitars, hailing from Staten Island, New York, greet tonight’s Hoxton crowd in understated fashion, before entertaining with a tight set drawing heavily from their 2009 album ‘Why There Are Mountains’.
The part shoegaze, part surf rock four piece innovatively weave jangly indie guitar melodies. Front man Joseph D’Agostino howls out his vocals in mesmerizing fashion, backed by subtle keys and taught bass and drum rhythms. It is at the peak of their melodic builds, however, that Cymbals… wield their power as a band equipped with many a intense, distorted guitar solo. Such freakouts inject a raw passion in to tracks like ‘…And the Hazy Sea’ or ‘Indiana’, staying just the right side of overly noise heavy breakdowns.
Despite having to deal with some equipment failing late on, forcing D’Agostino to abandon his guitar and provide only vocals – plus frequent tuning delays – the band play a driven, forceful set that entertains and connects well with East London’s muso crowd. Banter ensues during pauses as bassist Matt Whipple reliably informs us there would be less delays if we all bought records and tees from the merch’ table, thus enabling the band to buy more guitars in time for their next visit to the U.K. However, it sounds like they’re doing a damn good job of carving out impassioned forward thinking indie rock with what they’ve got.
Words and pictures by David Sutheran.
