Wednesday, October 17, 2007

le loup @ soundifx, 10/16/07 (cmj)

though the d.c. scene is often a little too hardcore for my taste, it does have an overarching and commendable DIY ethic that virtually every band that emerges from d.c. shares. le loup, one of the district's newest exports, certainly has that in spades. the seven person army (any band with more than six members if henceforth an army) wielded three guitars, a french horn/keyboardist, and a banjo/singer/programmer, in addition to bass and drums. le loup's origins are as true to the d.c. DIY ethic as anything; frontman sam simkoff recorded a collection of songs solo, then posted on craigslist, looking for bandmates. the full band coming together less than a year ago, yet the cohesion they displayed was remarkable. with the kind of sweetness shared by fellow armies los campesinos and you say party! we say die!, le loup played songs from their impressively titled debut album, throne of the third heaven of the nations' millenium general assembly. le loup was energetic and infectious, four out of their five songs rambunctious and exhilarating, causing near-universal toe-tapping (a serious dance move in a sit-down venue). too ramshackle and fast-paced to worry about anything as pedestrian as harmonies, all seven members sing (loudly) and in boisterous unison, bellowing into their mics with joyous abandon.

highly hyped, le loup has been tipped for five additional cmj shows this week, including a brooklynvegan party tomorrow afternoon at 1.30 pm (at pianos), two separate sets at galapagos, and a highly exposed spot as openers for band of horses at bowery ballroom. you would do well to catch them there, or on their upcoming tour with georgie james. this is a band that beats expectations.


le loup - buy throne of the third heaven etc. from hardly art.
"outside of this car, the end of the world!"

"i had a dream i died"

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