If the point of CMJ is to find new bands to love, the struggle with CMJ is how to dig out those needles in a haystack from the thousands of shows all over New York City. Lucky for you, we dragged ourselves all over town last week, waited in epic lines, braved packed-to-the-gills venues and drank about a thousand PBRs. (Hey, blogging is a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.) And you now get to reap the benefits. Covering the spectrum from funky to country, we give you our six favorite bands from CMJ after the jump.
From the trenches of CMJ, our favorite music for…
Getting funky: Gordon Voidwell
Bow ties, afros and Robert Palmer dancing girls decked the stage at last Thursday’s Gordon Voidwell show, making quite the slick impression before Voidwell even opened his mouth—and when he did, he unleashed a soulful, spiky voice worthy of Prince himself. This is ‘80s-inspired funk at its most electric—think Parliament flavored with free jazz and acutely intelligent lyrics.
Image via KEXP Blog
Rocking out (soft): Choir of Young Believers
Usually staged with eight plus musicians, this Danish group was all the more impressive for making their visiting four-person combo sound like a full orchestra during their CMJ rounds. Also impressive: singer Jannis Makrigiannis’s beard. (Apparently it gets really cold in Copenhagen.)
Rocking out (medium): Surfer Blood
It figures that the creative geniuses behind this catchy, beachy rock are a bunch of fresh-faced dudes from Florida. They’re like a cross between Weezer and Jan and Dean — except they’re decked out in a whole lot of plaid.
Rocking out (hard): Bang Bang Eche
They may be young, but these ragamuffins from New Zealand make more noise than bands twice their age. They’ve got more energy, too—take one listen to their throbbing, hyperactive electro-rock on “Fist Full of Dollars,” and you’ll need an Adderall to come back down.
Slowing down: Clare and The Reasons
Speaking of coming down, whimsical, romantic and ever-so-wounded, Clare and The Reasons sound like they grew up on a steady diet of ennui and late-sixties Beatles records. Just try listening to “Pluto” without thinking back to “Day in the Life.” Also, we love petite, pretty Clare for decorating the stage—and her hair—with tree-branches, and for making all the burly dudes in her band wear T-shirts appliquéd with arrows.
Hoeing down: Hot Lava
Indie and country have been on a collision course for a while now, and Virginia-based Hot Lava might just be the on-impact explosion we’ve been waiting for. This southern-fried indie band must have come from the artsy side of the border. They’re charming, slightly twee, and last Wednesday their percussionist used an old plastic suitcase for a kick-drum. Awesome. From New York, they headed back home—we’re resisting the impulse to follow them south for the winter.