A third of the year
**
120 Days - Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)
This is one of Vice Recordings new signees, 120 Days. They're originally from Kristiansund, Norway, but moved to Oslo (and were so broke, they lived in a trailer, according to their bio) with the hopes of making something of themselves. Their new self-titled album just came out a couple of weeks back, though I've been sitting on this for a while longer. I wasn't exactly sure what to make of them at first. They sound sort of shoe-gaze-y, but shoe-gaze filtered through early 90s Madchester (as in Stone Roses), played with loads of synths (see the photo?), and have a definite wall-of-sound style. A wall of sound, as fronted by Bono, circa Boy. If only U2 had sounded this good. So, yeah, it is kind of a tricky thing to get your head around, right?
Well, I was fortunate enough to see the band play last night at Union Pool. They put on a hell of a show, and they sound fantastic live. I'm a fairly skeptical listener, but I was completely sold before the first song was even over. They were wicked-loud, but in such a good way - they sounded absolutely huge, and I am now preaching their particular brand of musical gospel. See them play. Go out now! Do it! Hit the Vice Tours Page for full info, but if you New Yorkers are up for it, you can see them tonight at the Mercury Lounge, or at one of four shows next week during CMJ.
So, like I say, I wasn't too sure about the band on first listen, but seeing them play absolutely makes it work. You can buy 120 Days direct from Vice, from your favorite retailer, download from iTunes, or download for free when you sign up with eMusic.
**This photo comes courtesy of Punk Photo, who was nice enough to send me a whole grip of killer shots from last night. Thanks!!!
PS: I also happened to catch most of the set by Philly's math-y, proggy, instrumental metal band, Dysrhythmia - holy crap were they ever good. I highly recommend checking them out. Robot Anders, do you know anything about them that you'd like to share?