If you think keeping up with new music is just as important as keeping up with schoolwork, you already know that one of the biggest musical weeks of this year is upon us: the CMJ Music Marathon. Unfortunately for the people of Tucson, CMJ is located in New York City, so we have to gaze upon the excitement from afar via Twitter, Stereogum and BrooklynVegan.
CMJ is a citywide festival where many record labels and public relations firms host showcases, or shows with about five or six bands they represent — similar to the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas. Luckily, we can watch all the sets online and read the snarky Noisey articles, drool over the Instagram posts and incessantly check #CMJ on every platform available. Here are a few bands that have been hyped up as the rising stars of the week:
THE WYTCHES — This summer, I couldn’t stop listening to this British group’s slowed down, metallic surf pop. They did a jaunt around the U.S. this summer, but they return for a heavy run of CMJ shows, assisted by a government grant given to a few bands to help them spread British music around the world. I’ll say it first: Cheers, Queen Liz. We need way more British rock on this side of the pond.
GIRLPOOL — This two-piece band, composed of vocalist/guitarist Cleo Tucker and vocalist/bassist Harmony Tividad, is unlike anything I’ve heard in a while. No drums but very cool acoustic guitar and acoustic bass lines. For fans of Juan Wauters, Girlpool is honestly one of my favorite upcoming bands this fall with its acoustic, lo-fi, fem punk. What other band gives you lines such as, “It’s not enough to watch a movie / Eat me out to American Beauty”?
TWIN PEAKS — Twin Peaks has gathered some buzz lately. Not just David Lynch’s iconic cult TV show (returning in 2016), but also the Chicago band whose members weren’t even alive when the show first aired. They’ve had a big summer with the release of their album Wild Onion, but it’ll be interesting to see if they live up to the hype and keep their popularity up longer than three months. I’m betting on no. Sorry, guys.
PROM BODY — Yes, Tucson’s very own Prom Body will be at CMJ. Here’s to hoping it gives NYC hell and shows it what the Southwest has to offer. If you haven’t checked the band out already, it’s grown up into a grungy psych fiesta with a touch of shoegaze.
HONORABLE MENTIONS — No, this isn’t a band. Here are just some other worthy bands to check out and see how they manage the marathon week: Nai Harvest, Slutever, The #1s, Beverly, Heat and Fat White Family — whose lead singer played the band’s last show completely naked. If that’s not worth checking out, then I don’t know what is.
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Melanie Trecha is a guest columnist from KAMP Student Radio.
