It’s hip to read Pitchfork.com –almost as hip as it is to make fun of people that read Pitchfork.com. I enjoy both of the aforementioned. One of the more precious gems that came to me via Pitchfork was Cymbals Eat Guitars. In 2009, following the release of their debut, Why There Are Mountains, I noticed Cymbals getting a lot of attention on Pitchfork and gave them a listen.
After listening to the opener, “And The Hazy Sea,” I came to the conclusion that Cymbals embodied everything I love about rock music and promptly bought tickets to see them play the Middle East. Following one of the better shows I attended in 2010 and a vicious bout with tinnitus, I bought tickets to see them once again, a month later at The Paradise. Cymbals played more or less the same set at both shows, all of Why There Are Mountains, plus one or two new songs, presumably to be named later on their sophomore effort.
As I exited the venue following Cymbals’ set, I noticed front man and lead guitarist Joseph D’Agostino smoking a cigarette on the sidewalk. I approached him; the ensuing conversation included topics ranging from whether or not the band would be able to interrupt their touring schedule to see a then newly reunited Pavement, what exactly was that on his pedal board that made those noises during “Wind Phoenix” and the band’s next album.
A year and a half later, and Cymbals Eat Guitars is on the verge of releasing their second album, Lenses Alien. With generally a more raw and noisy feel to it than their first album, Lenses Alien features sonic landscapes that meld one song into the next seamlessly, with D’Agostino layering effect on top of effect on his guitar, which, along with his voice, defines Cymbals’ sound.
Opener “Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name),” over the course of eight minutes, introduces the listener to a more experimental side of Cymbals, with a sonic interlude interrupting the lethargic yet layered first half of the song with the slightly more upbeat, melodic second half. The number ends with D’Agostino’s voice rising into a scream paralleled by his screeching, relentless guitar.
The next offering, “Shore Points,” is more reminiscent of the sound the band defined from themselves on Why There Are Mountains. D’Agostino strums a poppy guitar line as Matt Whipple and Brian Hamilton weave bass and keyboard parts, respectively, around their front man’s lead guitar.
“Keep Me Waiting” opens with a solo that almost makes the listener forget that Cymbal’s lead guitarist isn’t J. Mascis. With Hamilton’s keyboard part intermingling with a thumping bass line from Whipple, the song provides the first truly charged offering off of Lenses Alien.
Batting cleanup is “Plainclothes,” one of the new numbers that Cymbals introduced to their audience while touring their first album. In this song I found everything I love about Cymbals Eat Guitars. It is the perfect example of the disparity the band is able to achieve within a single song. Opening with a tinkling keyboard line from Hamilton, the song swings back and forth between soft dragging interludes and schizophrenic peaks characterized by D’Agostino’s screeching guitar and howling vocals, climaxing with the front man yelling “this is initiation season.”
“Definite Darkness” is another number reminiscent of the band’s first album, with a pounding bass part courtesy of Whipple, finishing with a chorus of background vocals matched with a pretty lead guitar lick descending into sonic nonsense from D’Agnostino.
“The Current” opens the latter portion of Lenses and features a bass line heavy laden with echo effects which are built upon by D’Agostino’s guitar and vocals, both featuring heavy effects, creating a distant and somewhat unidentifiable sound that is somewhat out of place on the album.
Cymbals next offering from Lenses, “Wavelengths,” proves to be one of the more pop oriented tracks on the record with perfect harmony between D’Agostino’s guitar and Hamilton’s keyboard, accompanied by a pseudo lead guitar bass line from Whipple.
The band once again deceives its audience with “Secret Family,” as the song opens with a soft and pretty guitar melody from D’Agostino, but quickly disintegrates into shrieking disarray, flitting back and forth between complete guitar and vocal induced chaos and soft, melodic fills.
Album closer, “Gary Condit” opens softly and features two interludes of complete white noise, but builds up to tremendous heights thanks to lofty guitar lines and more powerful vocals from D’Agostino.
Looking back on talking to D’Agostino after that Paradise show more than a year ago, what he had to say about Cymbal’s then forthcoming album has some significance. I asked him what their approach they would take in recording their sophomore effort. Taking a drag off his cigarette and smiling he said, “we won’t know until we lay it down.”
Cymbals Eat Guitars will play at Brighton Music Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
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