Staten Island-based alternative group Cymbals Eat Guitars is a four-piece band named for a Lou Reed quote about the Velvet Underground’s signature gritty, cacophonous sound. On its third album, “LOSE,” the group unleashes a sonically ambitious set of songs which belies its relatively small size.
“LOSE” generally disregards the notion that less is more. The opening track, “Jackson,” begins with a lush layering of pianos, falsetto vocals and guitars which give way to a distorted wall of sound propelled by crashing cymbals. Though “Jackson” — and several other tracks for that matter — have relatively subdued verses, instrumentation tends to quickly build for anthemic choruses and instrumental passages. Four of the album’s nine tracks go past the five-minute mark. The album’s third track, “Xr,” includes the sound of a wailing harmonica — a welcome addition, and one which the band will hopefully return to in future releases.
Thematically, the songs seem to tread on deeply personal ground — seem to, because lead singer Joseph D’Agostino’s vocal style renders a great deal of unintelligible lyrics. Nonetheless, he conveys tremendous depth of feeling in his angry singing, often shouted or growled.
Moreover, when one can make sense of the lyrics, they are treated to cryptic, poetic subtlety not often found in indie rock: “Imagine victory / An alternate history / The songs we never wrote that float above and below me” from “Xr” is one of several gems that emerge upon careful listening. D'Agostino’s voice might draw comparisons to that of Conor Oberst, Say Anything’s Max Bemis or Titus Andronicus’ Patrick Stickles. It also contains a furious aggression reminiscent of Bert McCracken, lead singer of early-2000s emo outfit The Used.
These comparisons fail to address the scope of D’Agostino’s falsetto, used to tremendous effect on the eight-minute “Laramie.” The lengthy song also features some of the album’s finest instrumental sections, full of shimmering guitars that dissolve to return to driving rock bridges.
If “LOSE” has any significant weak points, they occur during attempts at restraint. The plodding acoustic “Child Bride,” for instance, goes for tenderness but falls significantly short, instead coming off as cheesy and incongruous. Lyrically, the song is a crushing, personal tale of abuse, but the string-laden arrangement just does not feel authentic. Fortunately, such moments are rare — but as such, they are all the more noticeable.
In terms of production, the album is consistently outstanding. This is no surprise, given producer John Agnello’s former collaboration with the likes of Sonic Youth, Andrew WK and Kurt Vile. At times, the album’s meandering, sparkling guitar passages and suite-like song structures are actually reminiscent of those on Vile’s 2013 masterpiece “Wakin on a Pretty Daze,” presumably due at least in part to the albums’ shared producer.
With its complex instrumentals and lengthy song structures, “LOSE” holds up well on multiple listenings. Though it has its stumbling moments, “LOSE” is for the most part a dynamic, intriguing album of thoughtful, emotional indie rock.
