Favorite New Finds of CMJ 2011

Another journey to the various venues and haunts of New York City is complete and after a few day's worth of much needed rest, it's time to reminisce. Going into this year's CMJ, my goal was to come away from the event having seen at least one band that I absolutely dug but had previously never heard of. By the end of the festival, there were three such groups that stuck out in my mind— bands whose recordings I immediately sought out in the drowsy days following all the madness. I've compiled them here, along with links to their recorded output for your listening pleasure.

After a day full of delayed flights and plenty of time spent sitting on tarmacs, I stumbled into Paste's Afternoon Delight Party at the Living Room just in time to catch the majority of a set from Portland's Radiation City. Sporting dual keyboard players and an exceedingly tight rhythm section, the quintet delicately made their way through a selection of songs from their full-length debut, The Hands That Take You. On the record, the group's subdued, dreamy melodies float atop electronic flourishes, while in concert, the addition of a second female vocalist brings lead singer Elisabeth Ellison's lyrics to the forefront, creating a sound not wholly unlike a twee-inclined iteration of Stereolab. The precise, staccato delivery of "Babies" made it the standout track of their set, reaffirmed just days later when I caught the group a second time at Distiller's showcase at the Knitting Factory. The set's comparatively booming sound showed yet another side of the band, demonstrating a versatility that's impressive to hear coming from such a young act.

Radiation City on Muxtape — Daytrotter — Spotify

Stepping into the Fader Fort on Friday afternoon, I was immediately greeted by the strummy, garage rock sounds of Bleached. Fronted by sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin, formerly of LA art-punk group Mika Miko, the girls' newest project focuses on straight-ahead compositions not unlike those of contemporaries the Dum Dum Girls. The pair's genetically harmonized vocals blended pleasingly over vaguely familiar riffs, calling to mind some sort of effeminate lovechild of the Stones and the Ramones. With just a small handful of 7-inch releases to their name, the set was a pointedly short run through their catalog. If I had to choose one track to suggest, it'd be "You Take Time" the bouncing B-side to their Carter single on ArtFag Records. These are future jukebox gems— treat them as such.

Bleached on Tumblr — Spotify

A late start at Consequence of Sound's party in the back room of Pianos on Friday night was the impetus behind my discovery of North Highlands. The five-piece Brooklyn-based band has been milling about the New York scene for some time now, but have recently released their debut record, entitled Wild One. The tightly packed showcase proved to be the perfect venue for the group's effervescent sound, inciting plenty of dancing to the high-hat heavy grooves of tracks like "Steady Steady." Vocalist Brenda Malvini's calmly delivered intonations crested over taut guitar riffs and the occasional violin phrase. As their California-derived name might imply, the east coast-dwelling group's music suggests a melancholic duality— contrasting their sunnier inclinations with the hurried pace of city life. Whether you're pining for palm trees or craving the urban sprawl, there's something about North Highlands that finds them equally comfortable in either setting (and everywhere in-between.)

North Highlands on Bandcamp — Big Ugly Yellow Couch

Meet Me in the City

This year's CMJ put me about three nights behind on sleep and equally as many days behind on things I needed to get done, which is why this post is a bit late. Don't interpret that as a complaint—quite the contrary—buying that last-minute plane ticket was one of the better choices I've made in recent memory. The festival may not be the king-making hub of the independent music scene that it once was, but it's still an amazing opportunity to see a bevy of bands-on-the-rise over a very short period of time. It's also a textbook case in networking opportunities—hence my stash of homemade business cards. Perhaps most importantly, it's a chance to meet up with old friends as well as make some new ones. Oh yeah, and there's plenty of free beer and swag.

I flew in to New York Thursday morning, and given my badge-less status, I decided to head over to AAM's free showcase at Arlene's Grocery on the Lower East Side. I grabbed some of the greasy pizza that was provided and caught a set from a group called Kitten that straddled the line somewhere between being a mediocre Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover band and a bunch of Metric impersonators. Wandering the streets seemed like the better choice, so I did just that, finding my way to the absolutely amazing Toy Tokyo. Before long, it was time to head over to the Medium Rotation mixer, which packed a boatload of college radio kids and promoters into a tiny bar in the East Village. While there, I finally got the chance to meet Graham of A Man A Plan A Canal in the flesh—the guy who helped me bring the Wilco tour documentary to town a few years back and has been an invaluable resource ever since. After a couple of beers, it was off to Brooklyn with Matt and the Terrorbird crew for the CMJ pub crawl—an event that I survived thanks to my choice to abstain from an absinthe cocktail. Making my way back to Manhattan, I ended the night at the Matador/Beggars Group party pounding beers alongside the affable Steve from Team Clermont.

The Subway is a Porno

Today I'm headed to New York City for the CMJ Music Marathon—the annual college radio-fueled orgy of concerts, swag and free booze. It was somewhat of a last minute decision, but I managed to find a friend of a friend (and fellow OU grad) to stay with, and the rest of my plans just fell into place from there. As a music director, it's a great opportunity to meet face-to-face with some of the folks I talk to on a weekly basis. As a fan of music, it's a chance to see a ton of bands in a very short span of time. I'm going without a badge because from what I understand the CMJ badge doesn't really mean very much anymore—everything I'm going to is either free or by invitation, no badge required. In fact, I think the majority of the shows happening this week are unaffiliated with CMJ—Pitchfork is even throwing their own mini-festival, essentially capitalizing off the fact that there are both a ton of bands and music fans in town.

I'm really looking forward to catching sets from the likes of Pomegranates, the Mynabirds, Ty Segall, Cotton Jones and Devotchka, as well as taking in some of the sights that I didn't quite get around to on my last trip to the city. I'll be doing my best to document as much of my week as I can and post some photos and impressions on here in a timely fashion. No promises, but I think it would be nice to share. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd actually like to get some sleep before Brooklyn.