Hot Chip and LCD Come Together for New Build

The two of them were fighting. Forks held up like gavels, trying to prove the point, piercing the air, pieces of lettuce and spinach sprinkling the table. "It's Hot Chip man. I'm telling you, this is, like, the pseudonym they're going under now. Super secret small-set show." The other shook his head violently, "It's LCD! They said that the Square would be their last show, right? As LCD." "No, it was their last show period. Jesus. I'm friends with the DFA guys. I would know." The other one crumpled with defeat. "Whatever. It's not Hot Chip." They were both right? and wrong. The band New Build was playing Mercury Lounge, as they had to an extremely sold out crowd the night before. Indeed, the show on March 14th was added last minute. For money? For the fans? For the band to get a little more experience? It's funny to think a group made of an amalgamation of graduates LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip might need to work out some kinks. At the show, there were a few uneasy breaks in between songs, and lead singer, Al Doyle, seemed a bit nervous, when not totally and completely engaging. The crowd ranged in age and appearance, but there was one commonality: everyone had a great appreciation for these musicians. For their past acts, and for their present one. They gave as much as their previous bands, bouncing hands in the air, thumping chests to the blue lit music. Their music is good. It's fucking good. The genre is electro-rock, but the influence ranges the span of alternative 80's. "Behind the Shutter," has the heavy orchestral/gothic sound of Siouxsie and the Banshees, "Dazzle." "Medication," personal favorite, has the cocksure schoolboy smarminess of Huey Lewis and the News. "Finding Reasons," their first single, released back in August, echoes Robert Palmer in his more lax moments, like "Woke Up Laughing." While Patrick Bateman could write an opus on the track "Misery Loves Company," and it's re-hashing of the Genesis motif. And then there is the wholly original "Do You Not Feel Loved." The audience went nuts as the band cued up. Coming in slowly, like a far off wave, coming in on a tide of synth. When the chorus hit, the white crash washed over the Mercury, the lights blazed, eyes closed, heads bobbing. In their set you can see how the tracks will gel together on their debut album Yesterday Was Lived And Lost, available for digital download on their Bandcamp (http://newbuild.bandcamp.com/) and sold on iTunes starting April 5, 2012. My recommendation? Don't wait. It'll just be more time wasted not listening to this band. New Build sets out for the European leg of their limited tour this week, but hopefully they'll be back soon. Til then? NEW BUILD - DO YOU NOT FEEL LOVED?