New York – To commemorate our descent into holidaze, on behalf of BestNewBands.com I threw another showcase/party at Matchless on December 18. Thanks to more of the best new and emerging local bands being part of it, it turned out to be a great nearing the end of the year note to mark how far we’ve come, and how there’s even more good stuff to come in the new year.
Honduras made me rock out the way I haven’t in some time. It gets harder sometimes, show after show after show that involves some obligation on your part, to forget about everything else and just be in the moment of letting yourself go when you know you need to say something meaningful about it in a way that hasn’t already been said a million times, and your brain is trying to take it all in and analyze at the same time. When you forget all of that, is when you want to jump around and wreck shit.
Honduras is like the kind of punk bands where the bass isn’t boring. They have all the elements in their songs that help you remember why you love music. There’s no way to be mad about it, because it’s a hell of a good time. The band recently finished making a video for single “Borders,” so the new year definitely has more good things to come from them.
It had been a little over a year since we last highlighted Shy Hunters, which come to find was not too long after they formed as a band. They came on this night with some mystique. As they played, they slowly pulled people back inside from their smoke break. Inside, people stood with eyes affixed on the band with a dreamier dream pop than ever. The trio are also sounding tighter than ever, and Indigo Street is still “really good at guitar,” as murmured by the folks who were seeing the band for the first time. They’ve got more goodies early this year too, with a debut full length coming out in February. They’ve also got another show at Baby’s All Right coming up on January 10.
The most talked about artist after this show was probably The Wendigo, with his wolf pelt with antlers headdress and shamanic dress, castings spells with distorted chants over hip hop witch house beats. It was like being part of a sacred ritual in a thunderstorm. It was performance art that no one had quite seen before, unless they had already seen The Wendigo. The Wendigo is real, and he lives in Brooklyn. Also, his new EP Alter Destiny is out now.
The experimental electronic storm came right after the sunbeams of Spirit Plate’s fuzz pop. Led by Brian Russ of Backwords, the trio breezed through their quirky fun jams, with between song banter full of the-more-you-know facts and interesting stories. These guys are just getting started, as they literally just formed this past summer, so it’s a good bet Spirit Plate will be gaining even more traction in the months ahead.
Jumpers were the charming openers of the night, with charismatic frontwoman Mary Page singing in a lulling alto range while wailing on guitar, and then there was the bassline that would get you too. They ended with a bang when they closed with “Fireworks,” and they helped set the good vibe for the night. They’re playing again exactly a month after our showcase, on January 18 at Fort Useless.
