cmj last gasp

Saw two more bands this weekend after taking Friday night off from CMJ (the scratchy throat had progressed into full fledged coughing and misty eyes).

Stars Like Fleas is usually a nine-piece band, but on Saturday afternoon they were only composed of five. On stage they had a drummer, bass clarinet, harp, vocalist, and everyman (guitar, bells, digital processing, probably more that I couldn’t even discern). The group plays a pretty indescribable folk-jazz-country-rock type thing that allows for them to engage in a healthy amount of small group improv before launching into their proper song-based material every few minutes or so. As a result, each show is different – and each version of the same “song” is wildly different.

I’m a big fan of the group – I know some of them personally as well – and I felt that the smaller group setting allowed for each member to really stretch out a bit more than they usually do, giving this particular show a lighter, airy feel to it that many other times they have lacked. A few friends of mine commented that it was among the best that they’ve yet seen them. Some call their new record “totalement indispensable.” Others found them (at the show) unable to write a goddamn song with a verse-chorus-verse that might actually thrill those outside of your immediate peer group who call Animal Collective a “pop” band with a poker face.

One group actually interested in writing goddamn songs with a verse-chorus-verse that might actually thrill those outside of your immediate peer group who call Animal Collective a “pop” band with a poker face is Essie Jain. After Saturday’s show, I’ll be checking out this year’s We Made This Ourselves. Her short set was oddly mesmerizing: the band was tight, the songs were polished, and Jain has a voice that’s capable of getting deep and husky. Always a plus in my book. Here’s a clip of the AMG review:

The debut album by expatriate Londoner Essie Jain (now living in New York) has the intimacy and rustic feel of a certain strain of singer/songwriters from the late ’60s and early ’70s: Linda Perhacs, Vashti Bunyan, Shelagh McDonald, and even a bit of Nick Drake are all accurate touchstones for alt-folk hipsters.

Apparently, the instrumentation on record is a bit more spare than what she had at the show, but I’m holding out hope…