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This third album from Brooklyn duo Cinema Cinema is filled with heavy riffs, screaming – sometimes angry but always intense – vocals, but it has a metallic power and sense of structure that I haven’t heard in quite a while.  This is good – bordering on industrial (when industrial was listenable); it captures a mood and thought pattern that this kind of music usually doesn’t really take into consideration.  Being produced by Martin Bisi, whose resume includes Sonic Youth, Material, John Zorn and Cop Shoot Cop helps to broaden Cinema Cinema’s palette with greater strokes and color – the sound is wide and explosive.

Ev Gold’s vocals on the opening track, “Broad Daylight” leap out at you and grab you by the throat; he’s not messing around – and the riffs pound along the thunderous drumming of Paul Claro; towards the end, keyboards and effects take the song on a runaway train ride.  “Decades” is metal mastery – tight, heavy and melodic; “Boxcutter” is slow, syrupy and a somewhat experimental workout – quieting down for the vocals and then picking up the intensity, along with a screamed refrain of “you fucking hate me now” – I think this may be the album standout.  “Minute” has a great, repetitive riff that carries the song like a musical ticking clock – clean sounding yet fiery and the other key track.

A Night At The Fights is one of the most intense, yet enjoyable albums I’ve heard in the “heavy” bracket this year.  This is serious and damn good.

RECOMMENDED and available now

http://www.cinemacinemaband.com/home.html

About the Author

Rob Ross

Rob Ross has been, for good, bad or indifferent, involved in the music industry for over 30 years - first as guitarist/singer/songwriter with The Punch Line, then as freelance journalist, producer and manager to working for independent and major record labels. He resides in Staten Island, New York with his wife and cats; he works out a lot, reads voraciously, loves Big Star and his orange Gretsch. Doesn't that make him neat?

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