I was pretty excited to finally see Shilpa Ray with her new band (namely Shipla Ray and Her Happy Hookers) this weekend at Santos Party House. But I was also dubious. Would this really do much to mend the broken heart I got from the break-up of her previous ensemble, Beat the Devil?
In short, yes. The music was a bit different from her last project, as one would expect. There was less of a bluesy feel, and instead there was a hint of something jazzy. Jazzy??? Yeah, it sounds odd to say, but the instrumentals had that sort of gloss to them. Of course, the overriding post-punk influences remain predominant, and in a very twisted way, you could call the music "neo-soul" too. But classification is kind of pointless when it comes to artists like Shilpa.
The set itself started out with a series of songs that were enjoyable but not memorable in any way. I was a mite disappointed, but about a third of the way through the set, the band kicked it up a notch and started playing one badass number after another. The individual songs aren't at the level of Beat the Devil's yet, but it's a young band, and judging from this show, they'll get there (and beyond) very soon.
The "Happy Hookers" are an incredibly tight band, though it's no surprise Shilpa would surround herself with great musicians. One song started off with about a 16-bar drum solo. Now, please understand, I hate drum solos. Which makes this an extremely rare exception - it was an interesting and compelling start to the song, thanks to drummer Josh Fleischmann's ability to gauge and hold the audience's attention. The rest of the band was on an equal level both in professionalism and in talent, and they all put on an engaging and passionate show that was exciting to see.
Of course, the real highlight was Shilpa herself, one of the best frontpersons I've ever seen. Her singing is excellent, though not beautiful - she wails, growls, yells and moans so much that I had a sympathetic sore throat by the end of the show. She plays a hand-powered harmonium (like a huge horizontal accordion) and when she's not throwing her back into that, she's bouncing around the stage and generally freaking out. She even graced the audience with one all-out dance routine, Shilpa-style - which is to say, she jumped up and down while flailing her arms at random. As a front-person, she's witty, entertaining, and above all, energetic. What more could you want?
If you missed this show, shame on you, but just try to make her next one. She does a solo performance at Public Assembly in Williamsburg on December 23 and the whole band will play the New Year's Eve party at Monkeytown this year, so mark your calendars!
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Showing posts with label Beat the Devil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beat the Devil. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Five New York Bands You Should Really Know
Hi everyone,
I want to get the blog started with some lists, because I love lists. (I would probably marry lists if I could.) Anyway, here are five New York bands that everyone should know. Probably you've already heard of them, but if not, you really should check them out immediately!
The Bellmer Dolls
One of New York's only original bands these days, Bellmer Dolls play something between garage, punk and goth, but wait - the combination is better than it sounds! Basically it goes down like this: moustache-sporting bassist Anthony Malat lays down pounding, rhythmic riffs over Daniel Sheerin's sparse, sharp drum beats. On top of this, Peter Mavrogeorgis, the band's founding member, plays erratic, impassioned guitar phrases and sings dark but accessible melodies, punctuated by occasional dissonant organ.
The Bellmer Dolls are best heard live, where the emotive power of their music is most evident. Attractive in an off-kilter way, all three Dolls possess the stage in a way few bands can: Sheerin plays staring intensely ahead, cracking the drums with a coldly violent force, Malat spends a large part of every show bent backwards like a demonically-possessed Gumby, and Mavrogeorgis stumbles around, pulling down microphones, knocking over speakers and breaking equipment as he creates carefully calculated bursts of noise.
In the end, the Dolls' music is relentless and tense, bleak and nihilistic, but with an energy that would be the envy of most hardcore punks.
www.myspace.com/bellmerdolls
The Werewolves
No one is quite sure how to explain this band, because all anyone knows for sure as that they are so cool you will probably shit your pants when you hear them. You can hear hints of the Stooges, Kevin Shields, Sonic Youth, the Ramones and a host of others in their songs, but it all somehow boils down to a cohesive, badass, genreless rock and roll.
www.myspace.com/amsterdam
The Harlem Shakes
Probably the best-known band on this list, the Harlem Shakes are pop masters! They are better than most of the other NYC pop bands because they don't sound like anyone else. A lot of that has to do with the unique tone of the vocals, but their melodies aren't nearly as cliched as most pop bands' and they have a nice attention to detail in their arrangements. Recently, the Shakes have been a bit forgotten because they've been locked in a studio for almost a year (or so we think) - but maybe we can coax them out with positive reviews??
www.myspace.com/harlemshakes
The December Sound
Unfortunately, the writing of well-constructed songs and the ability to forge a masterful sound rarely coexist in contemporary "shoegaze" bands, with bands erring towards either electro-poppy banality or exasperatingly boring, unvarying soundscapes. The December Sound are a welcome exception. Dark and dense, their music has heavy, catchy beats, excellent vocal melodies and marvelous sheets of sound. Their live show is consistently killer as well. But as with all good shoegaze - bring earplugs!
www.myspace.com/thedecembersound
Beat Radio
Hailing from Long Island, this indie pop collective is everything an indie pop collective should be. Lo-fi with a touch of electronica, Beat Radio isn't sonically different from a host of other pop bands over the last fifteen years. What sets them apart is their consistently excellent songwriting, centered on frontman Brian Sendrowitz's superb sense of melody. Over the course of the LP and two EPs I've heard, only a small handful of tracks fell short of single quality. Each melody is brightly catchy without being trite or obvious, and the songs are backed with well-conceived arrangements. While I won't deny that this is wussy music, Sendrowitz and his collaborators know how to step on a distortion pedal and rock out from time to time.
Reminiscent of the best from Pavement, Yo La Tengo and Broken Social Scene, this band is definitely worth a listen, or two hundred.
www.myspace.com/beatradio
Also, Beat The Devil would totally be in the top five if they hadn't broken up (boo hoo!) www.myspace.com/beatthedevil.
I want to get the blog started with some lists, because I love lists. (I would probably marry lists if I could.) Anyway, here are five New York bands that everyone should know. Probably you've already heard of them, but if not, you really should check them out immediately!
The Bellmer Dolls
One of New York's only original bands these days, Bellmer Dolls play something between garage, punk and goth, but wait - the combination is better than it sounds! Basically it goes down like this: moustache-sporting bassist Anthony Malat lays down pounding, rhythmic riffs over Daniel Sheerin's sparse, sharp drum beats. On top of this, Peter Mavrogeorgis, the band's founding member, plays erratic, impassioned guitar phrases and sings dark but accessible melodies, punctuated by occasional dissonant organ.
The Bellmer Dolls are best heard live, where the emotive power of their music is most evident. Attractive in an off-kilter way, all three Dolls possess the stage in a way few bands can: Sheerin plays staring intensely ahead, cracking the drums with a coldly violent force, Malat spends a large part of every show bent backwards like a demonically-possessed Gumby, and Mavrogeorgis stumbles around, pulling down microphones, knocking over speakers and breaking equipment as he creates carefully calculated bursts of noise.
In the end, the Dolls' music is relentless and tense, bleak and nihilistic, but with an energy that would be the envy of most hardcore punks.
www.myspace.com/bellmerdolls
The Werewolves
No one is quite sure how to explain this band, because all anyone knows for sure as that they are so cool you will probably shit your pants when you hear them. You can hear hints of the Stooges, Kevin Shields, Sonic Youth, the Ramones and a host of others in their songs, but it all somehow boils down to a cohesive, badass, genreless rock and roll.
www.myspace.com/amsterdam
The Harlem Shakes
Probably the best-known band on this list, the Harlem Shakes are pop masters! They are better than most of the other NYC pop bands because they don't sound like anyone else. A lot of that has to do with the unique tone of the vocals, but their melodies aren't nearly as cliched as most pop bands' and they have a nice attention to detail in their arrangements. Recently, the Shakes have been a bit forgotten because they've been locked in a studio for almost a year (or so we think) - but maybe we can coax them out with positive reviews??
www.myspace.com/harlemshakes
The December Sound
Unfortunately, the writing of well-constructed songs and the ability to forge a masterful sound rarely coexist in contemporary "shoegaze" bands, with bands erring towards either electro-poppy banality or exasperatingly boring, unvarying soundscapes. The December Sound are a welcome exception. Dark and dense, their music has heavy, catchy beats, excellent vocal melodies and marvelous sheets of sound. Their live show is consistently killer as well. But as with all good shoegaze - bring earplugs!
www.myspace.com/thedecembersound
Beat Radio
Hailing from Long Island, this indie pop collective is everything an indie pop collective should be. Lo-fi with a touch of electronica, Beat Radio isn't sonically different from a host of other pop bands over the last fifteen years. What sets them apart is their consistently excellent songwriting, centered on frontman Brian Sendrowitz's superb sense of melody. Over the course of the LP and two EPs I've heard, only a small handful of tracks fell short of single quality. Each melody is brightly catchy without being trite or obvious, and the songs are backed with well-conceived arrangements. While I won't deny that this is wussy music, Sendrowitz and his collaborators know how to step on a distortion pedal and rock out from time to time.
Reminiscent of the best from Pavement, Yo La Tengo and Broken Social Scene, this band is definitely worth a listen, or two hundred.
www.myspace.com/beatradio
Also, Beat The Devil would totally be in the top five if they hadn't broken up (boo hoo!) www.myspace.com/beatthedevil.
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