Joseph D’Agostino has always seemed like a man whose ambitions were just out of reach of his band’s capabilities. That doesn’t make his efforts with Cymbals Eat Guitars any less admirable; perhaps just unrealized. Cymbals Eat Guitars’ impressive debut Why There Are Mountains was an explosive introduction to the group’s knotty indie rock, lead by D’Agostino’s bulky prose as dense as the titular mountains themselves. I remember the weeks leading up to the release of the band sophomore effort Lenses Alien being fraught with anticipation for the album, generated mostly by the absolutely massive lead single “Rifle Eyesight.” But the indie world didn’t seem ready for the insular world Lenses Alien had in store, and it was not the success everyone imagined it would be. Lenses Alien remains one of the more underrated, underappreciated indie rock records of recent years, even if the nine tracks that follow never quite manage to live up to the brilliance of “Rifle Eyesight.” What made that song special and set it apart from the rest of Cymbals Eat Guitars’ catalog thus far was that the music was as epic as the poetry. From showgaze to slowcore to classical piano refrains, in this nine minutes, Cymbals Eat Guitars were finally as big as D’Agostino’s Jersey mythologies.
Three years has passed since the not-quite-flop of Lenses Alien. A lesser band probably wouldn’t be here right now, but D’Agostino isn’t done proving himself to us. And prove himself he does, though he’s rather sly about it; LOSE starts with not one, but two tracks deceptively similar to Cymbals Eat Guitars’ first two albums, and though repeated listens reveal idiosyncrasies unique to this album, the band makes us almost disappointingly comfortable with “Jackson” and “Warning.” Then, in the first obvious sign of LOSE’s brilliance, CEG pull the carpet out from under us with “XR,” a full throttle punk number with lots of yelling and a fucking harmonica refrain. The bait and switch of the first three tracks of this album sets the stage for the unpredictability of the rest of the album, which is highly welcome considering that, if you really think about it, all the songs on Why There Are Mountains and Lenses Alien kiiiiiinda sounded the same (except “Rifle Eyesight;” I really cannot stress what an incredible outlier that song was). This is by far CEG’s most distinctive album with each song standing out as it’s own entity, whether it be via the orchestral flourishes of “Child Bride,” the blaring organs that open album centerpiece “Laramie,” or the bluesy swagger of closing track “2 Hip Life.” Given the band’s penchance to wallow in non-obtrusive mid-tempo numbers in the past, LOSE sounds very much like a musical liberation for the band.
I’ve seen the word ‘verbose’ attached to Cymbals Eat Guitars frequently, and for very good reason. Good luck deriving any meaning from this band’s music without a lyric sheet handy; D’Agostino is a poet before anything, and his songs are notably crammed. LOSE is no different, yet D’Agostino was gracious enough to bless us with the record’s lyrics before it’s release. As always, his lyrics paint such a fascinating picture of Jersey life that they stand alone without musical accompaniment. I don’t pretend to understand a lot of his references, but there’s a poignancy to his lyrics which any suburban fuck up (hi, me!) can relate to. With a lot of songs referencing a death of one of his best friends, there’s a personal aspect to these lyrics that cuts through all the poeticism making LOSE feel more direct and emotional than they ever have before.
A great kept secret about Cymbals Eat Guitars is the post-hardcore aspect of their music. It’s a weapon in their arsenal they’ve kept mostly hidden, alluded to only through D’Agostino’s occasional wailing and heavy riffage in select older tracks. In spite of the dramatic musical shift, LOSE’s most distinctively changed feature is, unsurprisingly, D’Agostino himself. Whether it be desperation after the failed sophomore, or a revitalization due to this new creative energy the band seems to have tapped into, something here is pushing D’Agostino to be a lot more forceful than he’s ever been before. On LOSE his voice has a seriously rough edge to it (when he isn’t laying down that beautiful falsetto of course), often devolving into an all out bark at some points. This gives the music an emotional edge that, despite all the ground covered in its ten tracks, ties the album together and makes you realize the intent behind the record’s title; the stakes are high this time around, and CEG are willing to do whatever it takes not to lose. Given that this is their best record, and one of the best indie rock records of the year so far, it’s safe to say that they have definitely won.
Rating: 4.5/5
Ridiculous Made Up Genre Of The Day: prose rock