CMJ Music Marathon: CYMBALS Were Cooking At Cake Shop

Cymbals live

New York – English-American indie rockers CYMBALS brought a high-energy set to Cake Shop this week as part of this year’s CMJ Music Marathon. The band played the concert hall hidden under a coffee shop, battling minor technical difficulties and ultimately coming out on top. It was a rough start, with the band desperately trying to unpack multiple guitars and synths in the tiny window after the previous act. This process is always somewhat hectic, but the marathon aspect of the evening and the lack of a proper crew made it even more so. Once everything was plugged in, checked and re-checked, the band jumped right into “Like An Animal” from their The Age Of Fracture album, released earlier this year.

With this first song, vocalist Jack Cleverly cemented himself as a good and proper front man. There was something commanding about his stage presence despite the occasional giggle he loosed into the mic in between songs. Bouncing up and down on the Cake Shop stage, Cleverly set the pace for the show. He seemed so comfortable and natural that it was easy to join in and bop along with reckless abandon. It helped that CYMBALS’s music is synth-soaked dance pop written to be danced to. Anyone in the audience not jamming along would have stood out. As a result everyone was wiggling around, never mind that it was early in the day and the first day of the festival.

Even the band’s drummer Justin Goings joined in. With one earbud in and a SnapBack on, he drummed with an infectious energy. When Goings wasn’t smashing away at his set, he drummed on the ceiling or whatever other surface was within arms length. At one point during “Innocence,” a new song that the band worked into their set, Goings danced out and around his set, keeping the beat with just his sticks. Aaron Mendelsohn, the band’s multi-instrumentalist, juggled a bass, guitar and synth during the show. In between measures or in between songs he was constantly swapping one thing for something. He seemed to be pulling double duty and playing what would usually be dispersed over several band members. He did all this while dancing along with Cleverly.

All this movement made the songs truly fill the space. The levels might not have been where the band wanted and the drum machine may have been missing its lead, but neither hindrance affected their performance. The audience was too busy dancing along to notice anything missing from the performance and, to be honest, from the crowd it didn’t sound like anything was. Drum machine or no, the band brought energy to an early show and set a good tone for the rest of their CMJ stint. If this first show was any indication of what their live performances are like, they’re definitely a band to keep an eye on for when they come to your area.

Zoe Marquedant

Zoe Marquedant

Zoe Marquedant is a Marylander now living in Brooklyn. She recently graduated from Sarah Lawrence College where she majored in Journalism and English literature. She is a freelance journalist, who primarily writes on music and culture. Her work can be seen in Boston Magazine, Highlight Magazine as well as on rsvlts.com, mxdwn.com and Baeblemusic.com. When not writing, Zoe is probably working her way through a new series on Netflix, researching new pie recipes and collecting dumb jokes (e.g. Two fish are in a tank. One turns to the other and says, "You man the guns. I’ll drive.") Follow her vain attempts at mastering social media at @zoenoumlaut
Zoe Marquedant