For a band celebrating The Age of Fracture, CYMBALS sure form a cohesive sound. On their debut, the UK foursome may shirk "concepts", but their songs are nevertheless about ideas – about "action and desire", "the city", "working", "love" and so much more – but they're even more about dancing and elation. On their serious side, CYMBALS tap into brooding New Wave synths and postmodern existentialism, and on their fun side, hip-swaying disco- and house- influenced electro pop. Think Hot Chip produced at Factory Records and written at City Lights. And, performed live at KEXP, it all fits:
First there was the Rat Pack, then the Brat Pack, and now... the Mac Pack? The uniforms may have changed – from suits to cardigans to oversized t-shirts and backwards-facing baseball caps – but the life-is-to-be-lived attitude of today's scene makers hasn't. Singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco embodies t…
Usually, you'd want to hustle the riff raff out, but when it comes to the New Orleans band Hurray for the Riff Raff, you want them to stick around. That's why we featured them three times this year: in our studio, at our SXSW showcase at Mellow Johnny's, and during our broadcast over Labor Day week…
