#2172 Cymbals Eat Guitars - Pretty Years

There's a lot to like here - that big fuzzy bass, the spike of horns on Wish, the dense, sparkly production, the occasional ripping guitar sound.

But: I've been trying to figure out what the 2010's sound is, how it differs from the 00's. And I think its here.

Cymbals' best song is Indiana, off 2009's Why There are Mountains. Very indie song, very 00's, all railing and smallness and bigness and feeling. And most importantly, it has room to let a single instrument soar, to let a single melody sing, to let a sound stand out there on its own and express itself.

Pretty Years, appropriately named, is very 2010's, just packed to the gills with production and sound, everything phalanxed against examination, pointed towards a soaring chorus that will surely carry you away. And sometimes that charge leads someplace great (Finally, Wish) but mostly it just sounds like repetitive, indistinct mush, too busy trying to impress you to get to know you.

This's never really been my favorite band. Lose left me cold. Heck, looking back, I even did a What's Wrong with Rock state of the nation on that review - something about this band just seems at the center of the problem for me. And something about watching them play it Lose-safe again, now with more layers of shimmer, charts a course towards an everything-but-guitars future where every feeling gets its own forcefield. And that's fine, progress etc. but I guess I'm getting left behind 3/5