Cymbals Eat Guitars provide a tsunami of slacker rock

25 May 2015, 18:15 | Written by James Appleyard

(Live)

(Cymbals Eat Guitars)

It seems like barely a moment has passed since New York’s Cymbals Eat Guitars crashed out of their dorm rooms in 2009 and presented the world with their debut Why There Are Mountains. Brimming with off-kilter Pavement-esque melodies and tales of suburban ennui, the album proved to be at once refreshing and nostalgic. But as it turns out, six years can harbour the equivalent of a lifetime of change.

Last year saw the release of Cymbals Eat Guitars’ third album, Lose, the follow up to the self-admittedly ‘proggy’ Lenses Alien, and the title of the album was telling. Dealing with the well publicised loss of CEG’s initial drummer and front man Joe D’Agostino’s long time friend Ben High, the process of writing and recording Lose served as an exercise in near spiritual cleansing for the band, and this element of direct, emotive catharsis shone through at tonight’s (21 May) show at London’s Hoxton Bar and Kitchen.

As the band stepped onto the stage D’Agostino held a tight, focused stare and looked as though every muscle was tightly coiled, ready to deliver the kind of high-octane performance CEG have become known for. They didn’t disappoint.

Easing themselves in with “2 Hip Soul” the band relished the slow build, but it wasn’t long before the explosive crescendo sent a ricochet through the crowd and broke through the room like a tsunami of expertly orchestrated slacker rock. The infectious hooks continued, not least with a turbo-charged rendition of Lose stand-out “XR”, its wonky country leanings striding forth like a Dylan basement tape song in the middle of a speedball trip.

But the band had kept their reserve tank full and ended the set with “Jackson”, the sweaty and grinning D’Agostino jerking around the stage, delivering the affirming line “I don’t wanna die” with enough energy power the entire eastern seaboard. Closely following with “…And The Hazy Sea”, a track lifted from their debut, that saw the band ultimately ride the strident stomp of the song into a full on wig-out of near epic proportions, the gyrating crowd happy to ride the sonic wave along with them.

As the rest of the band exited the stage D’Agostino hesitated and decided the time was right to air an impromptu solo version of “Child Bride”, a the hushed room stood bathed in blue light as the lines “slow the years down / lose your twenties / loaded all the time” brought the set to a captivating close.

As the crowd filed out, the buzz of melodic overdrive still ringing in our collective ears, it was clear from tonight’s show that Cymbals Eat Guitars are band seriously on top of their game.