Cymbals Eat Guitars: Show Preview
What makes New Jersey prime real estate for soul-on-sleeve storytelling? We don't have the answer, but
The Sopranos,
Garden State, the Wrens'
The Meadowlands, and Bruce Springsteen's discography indicate that there's something special about New York's little brother. That phenomenon reappears on
Lose, the new third record from indie rock quartet
Cymbals Eat Guitars. Although based out of Staten Island, the band is Jersey at its core, with lead vocalist/guitarist Joseph D'Agostino growing up over in Waretown. As the front man launched Cymbals in 2007, his close friend Benjamin High played bass and sang on early demos. Soon thereafter, High died of a heart condition at age 19. The part-mournful, part-celebratory
Lose reflects on and evaluates memories of High and D'Agostino's N.J. youth — driving to the Six Flags in Jackson, getting high,catching a house show in Caldwell,watching a friend get destroyed by child abuse and drugs — while its rock roars with radiance and richness.
Lose is the kind of complicated work that thrills, especially once you consider what the 20-something D'Agostino might say when he has more decades in the tank.
— Reyan Ali
415-346-6000
