Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at Williamsburg Park in Brooklyn, NY on September 7th, 2012
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at Garage in London, U.K. on January 5th, 2012
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at Mercury Lounge in New York, NY on August 24th, 2011
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at 2010 Haldern Pop Festival in Rees-Haldern, Germany
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at 2010 Siren Music Festival on Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at 2010 Sasquatch! Festival in George, WA
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at SXSW 2010 in Austin, TX
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at 2010 Harvest of Hope Festival in St. Augustine, FL
Staten Island’s Cymbals Eat Guitars broke through in 2009 with debut Why There Are Mountains (QRO review), which made you sit up and take notice right from the beginning with big opener “…And the Hazy Sea”. It wasn’t a perfect record, more promise than delivery, but definite promise. Unfortunately, 2011 follow-up Lenses Alien (QRO review) didn’t live up to that promise, going big without the substance needed. Thankfully, LOSE sees the band become good enough for any borough.
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at WIRED Store in New York, NY on December 16th, 2009
QRO’s review of Cymbals Eat Guitars at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA on September 19th, 2009
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, IL
Photos of Cymbals Eat Guitars at Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY on May 21st, 2009
Admittedly, LOSE opens on a “Hazy” note with the similar starter “Jackson”, but “Hazy” was the reason you paid attention to Cymbals in the first place, and “Jackson” adds quieter parts that touch. Throughout the record, Cymbals deliver both sound and meaning, like the pressing but also expansive “Warning”, the Titus Andronicus-like gritty verbose “XR”, or the incising with loss “Chambers”. There still may be a bit too much thrown in (“Laramie” didn’t need the slow synth open), but LOSE is a powerful record.
Cymbals Eat Guitars has long been an engaging live band that just needed some polish and direction, and they have found that on LOSE.
