New Music & 2010 Songs, Pt. 2

On that same night, Lets’s Wrestle was touring with Titus Andronicus and although the latter could have been the night’s own headlining act, they played second with their exceptional musical ability. Before the show, a few of the member sat around some of the couches at their merchandise table and humored me as I hovered over all of their music. They had both of their albums – including their latest triumph, The Monitor – available, as well as a few 7” and one special, tour-only 12”. Amy Klein would sit on one of the couches and cutely smile when someone approached her and asked about an album but even though I was there to hear everyone, lead singer Patrick Stickles showed up to deliver wonderful comedy interspersed between asking for a drink, speaking to fans or even, checking out Let’s Wrestle.

If you go to their site, you can read Stickles’ entire thoughts on the first phase of their tour and you can read about how much he loved Nice Nice (more on that later) but as for his band’s own show, let’s just say that they owned it. Musicianship is always a top priority for me and this band has multitudes of it. It was amazing hearing their studio songs come to life underneath the band’s rolling energy. And everything is done with such emotion and passion that even just as a member of the audience you feel the need to jump in. Highlight of the show: singing, “You will always be a loser” about forty times straight, as loud as possible, with the band. Below is the opening song to that aforementioned album, there’s a reason why they’re one of Rolling Stone’s “Top 10 Bands of 2010.”



And here is a taste of what Gorillaz conquered with their newest album, Plastic Beach. One of the best songs of 2010 is their song “Empire Ants” that features Little Dragon. Starting off tranquil but with a cloud of foreshadowing, Damon Albarn softly sings before leading into an explosion of synths. It manifests into a towering electronic display of tremendous strength with Yukimi Nagano’s fantastic voice riding on top of everything. - Bryan