Rating: NNN
It’s easy to understand why multi-faceted label-slash-studio-slash-promo outfit Gigantic jumped on the Cloud Room as their next big indie breakout. The hotly tipped NYC rock squad have all the elements of au courant hitmakers: you’ve got your Franzian jerky jangle, lush Interpol-style keyboards and reverb, an elusive frontman with an implacable accent and Existential Issues, an oblique geographical reference for a band name and a self-consciously dreamy-dark aesthetic. They’re like the perfect storm of indie rock bands, drawing on a ton of pleasantly hooky sonic influences. Problem is, they totally lack character. The songs on their self-titled debut are lovely to listen to – lead single Hey Now Now sounds like every song you’ve ever pogoed to at Blow Up and/or the Dance Cave – but you forget them seven seconds after the track ends. Even their lyrics lack the frenetic, verbose charm of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The Cloud Room float by the El Mocambo Saturday (February 4).
