CMJ blazed through our lives last week, bringing 1300 bands into 80 New York City venues for innumerable showcases (including FUV Live at CMJ with Horse Thief, Son Little, Elle King and Happyness). The Alternate Side's Alisa Ali and Kara Manning set out to see as many bands as they could and report on the highlights of a dizzying five day marathon.
Elle King has a voice that cannot be ignored. It’s raspy, it’s sexy, it’s confident... It’s a VOICE, which feels like it requires all caps. Elle is also charming, funny, warm and engaging, and as she proved at our FUV Live at CMJ showcase, she is a talent to be reckoned with.
Horse Thief's latest release, Fear in Bliss, is a beautifully crafted album, driven by melodic guitar and layers of texture. It represents a band that is embracing its sound and coming into its own. I was really excited to see these songs performed live and they did not disappoint.
The wiry and wry Benji Compston and Jonny Allan shared vocal, guitar and bass duties (and surreal, off-the-cuff observations about dead swans and p
One of the main objectives of the CMJ Music Marathon (and WFUV for that matter) is to expose new music talent, and Son Little is a great example of that mission. Although he has lent his voice to The Roots and RJD2, Philadelphia's Aaron Livingston is still relatively unknown for his work as Son Little. He has only released three singles so far, but based on the strength of his songs and now an EP, Things I Forgot, released this fall, we are confident that Son Little's name will soon be much more widely known.
What a night! The third annual FUV Live at CMJ showcase at Rockwood Music Hall brought together four diverse artists and bands that bridged thousands of miles.
We kicked off with the yearning, beautiful anthems and sweet harmonies of Oklahoma's Horse Thief, a great set that stretched from the muscularity of "Devil" to the majesty of "Little Dust." Brooklyn-based, banjo-plucking Elle King blew us away with her gritty, powerhouse vocals and swaggering songs, like "Good To Be A Man" and her new single "Ex's and Oh's"—and surprised us too with a rowdy cover of R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)." Son Little made us think with his introspective lyrics and soulfully moody songs like "Joy" and "Your Love Will Blow Me Away," drenched in dissonant textures and bold guitarwork. And London's Happyness were pure fuzzed-out fun, showing off their artistic range and quirky humor as they confidently switched from the tender, lo-fi prettiness of "Pumpkin Noir" to the blissful, sunny blast of "Anything I Do Is All Right."
We'll have much more later in the day—videos, streams, setlists and photos—but you can read more about the bands you heard on WFUV yesterday here. FUV Live at CMJ is supported by Squarespace.
Happyness, a savvy trio from London, mine the fuzzed-out, brusque beauty of '90s melodic rock. Not grunge, mind you, but the heady heights of Pavement, The Lemonheads, the Flaming Lips and Yo La Tengo, finding a very fresh spin on a familiar American imprint. Happyness will be joining Horse Thief, Son Little and Elle King for WFUV and The Alternate Side's CMJ Music Marathon showcase, FUV Live at CMJ, on Tuesday, October 21, at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City from 5-9pm.
The showcase, the very essence of FUV's mission of music discovery, will be broadcast live on 90.7FM WFUV, also streaming online. In addition, a 12-inch vinyl EP, featuring one song from each band, will be recorded and pressed at Rockwood Music Hall that night and given away to FUV listeners at the event. FUV Live at CMJ is supported by Squarespace.
Son Little's expressive, soulful grooves, rippling through songs like "Cross My Heart" or "The River," adroitly recall the spirit of Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye. Lyrically, like Little's iconic forebears, there's a strong sociopolitical undertow to the songs of this young artist, signed to the ANTI label. Son Little will be joining Happyness, Horse Thief and Elle King for WFUV and The Alternate Side's CMJ Music Marathon showcase, FUV Live at CMJ, on Tuesday, October 21, at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City from 5-9pm.
The showcase, the very essence of FUV's mission of music discovery, will be broadcast live on 90.7FM WFUV, also streaming online. In addition, a 10-inch vinyl EP, featuring one song from each band, will be recorded and pressed at Rockwood Music Hall that night and given away to FUV listeners at the event. FUV Live at CMJ is supported by Squarespace.
On songs like the torchy lope of "Ex's and Oh's" and the wistfully funny "Good To Be A Man," Elle King's smoky, soulful vocals and forthright, heart-on-her-sleeve attitude make her an irresistible force of nature. Elle will be joining Happyness, Son Little and Horse Thief for WFUV and The Alternate Side's CMJ Music Marathon showcase, FUV Live at CMJ, on Tuesday, October 21, at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City from 5-9pm.
The showcase, the very essence of FUV's mission of music discovery, will be broadcast live on 90.7FM WFUV, also streaming online. In addition, a 12-inch vinyl EP, featuring one song from each band, will be recorded and pressed at Rockwood Music Hall that night and given away to FUV listeners at the event. FUV Live at CMJ is supported by Squarespace.
Horse Thief's shimmering psychedelic folk broods with an edgy, gnarled beauty, as deftly realized on the Oklahoma quintet's impressive debut, Fear in Bliss. Horse Thief will be joining Happyness, Son Little and Elle King for WFUV and The Alternate Side's CMJ Music Marathon showcase, FUV Live at CMJ, on Tuesday, October 21, at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City from 5-9pm.
The showcase, the very essence of FUV's mission of music discovery, will be broadcast live on 90.7FM WFUV, also streaming online. In addition, a 12-inch vinyl EP, featuring one song from each band, will be recorded and pressed at Rockwood Music Hall that night and given away to FUV listeners at the event. FUV Live at CMJ is supported by Squarespace.
