Naked Hearts are one of the best kept indie rock secrets of the NYC scene. We accidentally caught this duo at CMJ 2008 while they were playing a day show at Cake Shop upstairs and after witnessing their tightly performed, memorable tunes we felt obliged to blog about them. As it often happens in the rock'n'roll world, things haven't exactly been moving at the speed of light for Naked Hearts since then, but it looks like they are now ready to conquer this city. Considering their obvious talent, their quality songwriting (think about a more melancholic version of The Strokes or a less dreamy version of Belly), their extremely tight live show and strong stage presence (as we witnessed when they played our Deli party last month), and their undeniably good looks, we don't see how fans won't start piling up in the near future. Their CD release party will be at Mercury Lounge on May 1st - buy the tickets now! And check out these two songs (or download them here and here).
This might sound kind of trite, but imagination is one of the most crucial deciding factors that makes us pay attention to music we get introduced to. This is a quality that is definitely not missing from Night Manager's music, lead singer Caitlin Seager's melodies in particular. The Brooklyn via Paris/San Francisco band offers some of the most refreshingly catchy pop lines we heard in a long time. The gorgeous single "Ghost" (streaming here) is a glorious melange of genres, somewhat reminiscent of the carefully constructed songs from The Throwing Muses' pop masterpiece "The Real Ramona" - one of the most underestimated pop album of the 90s. Unpredictable melodies blending Cocteau Twins' heavenly beauty and The Beach Boys' harmonizing mastery, float on top of what could be described as a grunge-style track, although drenched in reverb and filtered through the NYC DIY sound of the new millennium, with all its homages to the new wave and the garage sound of the 60s. But the sonic character of the track is kind of contingent here, because the actual song is so good that it would work in any instrumental context. The other two tracks on the 7" (the band's third release), present a similar recipe, with a heavier influence of the 60's surf pop element, which awakens comparisons to west coast breakout band Best Coast.- PDG
