Cymbals Eat Guitars Rock Dense Atmospheres of ‘Pretty Years’ at Ferndale’s Loving Touch (SHOW REVIEW)

On what became a more intimate, small crowd at Ferndale, Michigan’s Loving Touch for a mid-week performance by Cymbals Eat Guitars, allowed a more eloquent and agreeable nature for the band. Clearly, lead singer Joseph D’Agostino was in good spirits, as he was rarely absent with a smile or smirk on his face while looking toward his band or crowd.

Opening for what was to be one of the last of the Pretty Years tour for Cymbals Eat Guitars was Field Mouse, who showcased their heavy shoegaze and dream pop fortitude. The crunching nature of their guitars and pedal effects created an airy, dissonant tone to the night. Similar to most shoegaze stalwarts, their evocative nature brought the frenzied adulation and ghostly tone in their performance that transitioned perfectly for the more timid intensity Cymbals Eat Guitars later that night. Before that would happen though, a local group named Wildhoney performed to the more indie pop vein that most were awaiting for later the night. Their laid back and inviting crowd banter livened up their set and inexplicably garnered the larger crowd than Cymbals Eat Guitars themselves.

It was a surprisingly sparse for an already small venue, but that allowed those in attendance to take in what would be a rapid-fire sequence of mostly 2014’s LOSE and Pretty Years throughout the night. It gives thoughts that despite their acclaim, Cymbals still has yet to push for a wider audience. Starting out the night was the emphatic “Place Names” to the elation of many and what was evidenct from the onset was Cymbals Eat Guitars are both powerfully exuberant with their performances while ostensibly allowing to feel you were reliving the stories they were telling. D’Agostino in particular looked to be living in the moment of each verse.

Much of the night resulted in explosive nature of LOSE, while sprinkling the more dense atmospheres of Pretty Years. When forceful appearances of “Warning” or “Jackson” erupted in an explosive instant by the clash of the band shredding their instruments or by the screams of D’Agostino, tracks from Pretty Years like “Finally” and “4th of July, Philadelphia (Sandy)“ brought the more vivid imagery from the band.

Encoring was a solo performance from D’Agostonio performing “Child Bride.” An already powerfully sobering tune about abuse of a childhood friend and the changing of childhood memories to a more disturbing realization of adulthood. This closing was an effective representation of what Cymbals Eat Guitars is about; much like their performance it inherently becomes an engaging reflection of the past, present, and future anxieties of everyday life.

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