Exit Clov is a quintet from Washington DC which create springy happy pop music. With sisters leading the sound with violins, keyboards, and brilliant vocal harmonies it’s hard not to be intrigued. Nothing ground breaking in their catchy tunes but the band is very musically talented and very cute. The fact that Emily plays one of my favorite keyboards, the Korg MS2000, deserved checking out their entire set.
I was spoiled to see Cloud Cult at the tiny Union Hall earlier this year in support for one of the best albums of 2008. They promised to be back to their favorite cities including NY, so I made sure to see them again at Bowery. Roberto was among the hard core fans and had this perspective: “I should start by saying that I went into the concert as a relative Cloud Cult newbie. I left the show with a pair of distinct impressions: (1) these guys sure do make some beautiful, powerful, orchestral-string-heavy music, and (2) their lyrics often come off as heavy-handed and not-all-that inventive (“…have you found where your place is?” *cringe*). Simply put, I often (not always) was left feeling that I was listening to a band of mature late 20’s-30 somethings playing background music for a pretty talented 17 year old songwriter. Their on-stage show kept my eye entertained though, especially since I’m a sucker for interesting gimmicks, e.g two artists painting on a pair of canvases all throughout a show. Overall, it was a pretty super show by a band who for the most part made up for their lyrical flaws by infusing super-solid musicianship and tons of energy.”
Pictures from the show.