Lose
Cymbals Eat Guitars’ lead singer Joseph D’Agostino reveals his rock ’n’ roll heart on the Staten Island indie quartet’s third album, 2014’s *Lose*. Written in memory of his friend and musical collaborator Benjamin High, *Lose* also confronts the loss of one’s youth and one’s ability to believe that a single album can change the world. Of course, that hasn’t stopped the band from trying. And just as The Gaslight Anthem or The Hold Steady grab ahold of their guitars and aim for reviving the masses, Cymbals Eat Guitars have found their own distinct voice for rallying the troops. Songs like “Jackson,” “Warning,” “XR,\" and “Place Names” start the album on an aggressive note, with D’Agostino’s vocals working from a Conor Oberst–type cry to a Prince-like falsetto to get his point across. The instrumentalists aren’t afraid to explore the songs\' outer reaches, and whether it’s the gentler cadences of “Child Bride,” the epic stand of “Laramie,” or the slowly swaying waltz of “2 Hip Soul,” this is a band that play with determination and a sense that they’re still discovering where their music can go.
Cymbals Eat Guitars' third record is a sprawling, complex, and fascinating document of American indie rock. Marked by loss and indebted to New Jersey heroes the Wrens' own approach, LOSE fixates on small moments of startling lucidity and figures out where they fit into the bigger picture.
An impeccably beaten, teary-eyed but smiling document to a frighteningly exhilarating time of one’s life and beacon to march onward.
On rare, magical occasion, a rock song can offer pure catharsis—capturing the raw essence of an emotion you're too scared…
As Cymbals Eat Guitars further shape the band's sound, the quartet manages to strike a balance between radio-friendly material and experimental urges with LOSE, their third album.
Album review: Cymbals Eat Guitars - LOSE. "Tender balladry, falsetto euphoria, bitter angst, thwarted loss and befuddled bewilderment…"
Cymbals Eat Guitars new album 'Lose' reviewed by Northern Transmissions, the LP comes out 8/26 on Barsuk Records, the first single off 'LOSE' is "Jackson"