CMJ 2012: The Life & Times // Local H // Sleepies // Bad Cop

By Wednesday evening my ears had finally stopped ringing as I headed into Manhattan for the Frenchkiss Label Group showcase at Pianos. The label group has rapidly grown as a distributor for many great independent labels such as Godmode, Graveface, Jeffery Drag, ATP Recordings, Manimal Vinyl, and many others.

Bad Cop opened the showcase, a young band from the garage rock capital of the south, Nashville, TN. Their city has emerged as a breeding ground for stoned garage punk with Southern charm (JEFF The Brotherhood, Turbo Fruits, PUJOL, Natural Child, etc.) and the quintet are a welcome addition to the pack. Their music sizzled through the small room as their upbeat guitar jangle intertwined with steady bouncing rhythms and frantically yelped and howled vocals. The guys played a good deal of new tracks including the most rifftastic "Kick It Out," tempo shifting stoner jam "Maniac," as well as the punchy frenzy of "Wet Lips," from the recently released split single with Turbo Fruits. While their set focused on new music (at times channeling Nashville's own music ambassador Jack White), the guys played "Control," the fuzz soaked stand out and shout along closer from their full length debut Harvest The Beast. Frontman Adam Moult (the founder of Jeffery Drag Records) danced across the small stage, knocking over multiple drinks (who cares... it's a punk rock show, dammit), filling their set with physical energy that matched their musical output. Eventually Moult picked up a guitar, joining Alex Hartness and their second guitarist for an unexpected but always welcome three guitar attack. Bad Cop make that kind of music you can shake your ass too, in other words... go see them.

Local favorites Sleepies were next, a band that has quickly become an absolute favorite here at Exploding In Sound. Their name has been everywhere leading up to CMJ, championed by SPIN and the national media, and for good reason. Sleepies' contortion of punk, grunge, and indie rock is a sweltering good time, snarling and roaring from start to finish while consistently diverging their sound in different directions. Bassist Josh opened the show by introducing themselves as Surfer Blood before launching into their latest single, "Combat". The trio erupted into their chaotic storm of fast paced yet slow building post-punk party anthems and the energy level never dissipated. Drawing heavily from the recently released Weird Wild World (one of the year's absolute best records) the band played "Got A Way," "Strange Feelings," "Cool Boy," and the mighty "Terra Nova," before closing with a blistering version of the sludgy noise freakout "Seriously". The band play loose and loud, rarely staying in the same place for too long, exuding that "we don't give a fuck what you think, we're having a great time" kind of punk attitude.

CMJ has a tendency to bring you to some of your least favorite venues in the city, and this year was no different as I made my way to CMJ Union, a makeshift venue set up in the Union Square Ballroom. The room felt like a corporate mixer more than a rock show. I arrived just in time for the Slimstyle Records showcase, kicked off by Chicago's favorite grunge duo, Local H.

Nearly two decades into their career, Local H have always stood at a strange crossroads among music fans. There are those that only know them from their massive hit "Bound for the Floor" back in 1996, then there are those who have continued to listen to the band, a large diehard following that never miss their frequent tours. Their eighth studio album continues their tradition of brilliant grunge concept records, adding a meaningful story once again to otherwise simplistic music. At this point in their career Local H has a massive amount of music to chose from in their sets, and did a good job of mixing songs from the recently released Hallelujah! I'm A Bum with their hits and fan favorites. Opening with the new releases' "Cold Manor," the guys quickly broke into "California Songs," and the furious "Back in the Day," a song even more relevant now than it was sixteen years ago. While vocalist/guitarist Scott Lucas rarely finds himself screaming these days, he's still more than able to do so when needed, erupting over the fast punk charge. His custom guitar with duel input jacks runs through a bass and multiple guitar amps, allowing him to switch between the three sources creating the sound of a quartet together with hard pummeling drummer Brian St Clair.

The years of grunge have been gone long enough that a resurgence has already began, yet Local H have remained strong throughout. Lucas has become an elder-statesman of sorts for the sound, wise and knowledgeable, with a calm demeanor that still explodes in aggressive moshpit inducing glory. With flannel and a shirt that read "What Would Neil Young Do?" Lucas is keeping the spirit of grunge alive one show at a time. Generally a band to play at least twenty songs a night, the guys closed out their ridiculously short set with "Another February," crowd favorites "High-Fiving MF" and "Fritz's Corner".

Later in the evening as the early hours of the following day had begun, The Life And Times took the stage to deliver their distinctly Midwestern post-hardcore bliss. Allen Epley (Shiner) and co. have been touring non-stop this year in support of their latest and greatest record to date, No One Loves You Like I Do. Their sound floats somewhere between post-hardcore riffs and post-rock ambiance, creating a space age sense of wonderment. The guitars are massive and the rhythms equally booming. The trio played a short set of songs from this year's album, including highlights such as the deep boogie of "Day Nine" and the epic slow burning "Day Twelve". Their dreamy sheets of guitar and intricate rhythms were the perfect ending to the day, I only wish they could have played a bit longer (and a bit earlier).

BAD COP:

SLEEPIES:

LOCAL H:

THE LIFE AND TIMES: