No doubt about it, this album will make you move and groove with its sonic electronic dance beats accented with the European sophistication of the end-of-the-century French house. Similar to the sounds of New Order, classic Factory Records, and Hot Chip — watch out, Cymbals just might become your new favorite band from the UK. Since 2010, Cymbals have popped up with two albums, with their latest titled The Age of Fracture. Their past albums have featured catchy, dance pop tunes, but this time around synths take over, and a wave of ’80s influence comes through, topped off with a dash of post-punk.
WHY WE DIG THEM:
It’s only been four years, and all their material up to this point has been great. One would typically generalize that a band’s third album would not reflect the original sound of the band, but with Cymbals, they’ve kept it consistent throughout. The only thing emitting from this album is a dance party!
BEST SONGS:
“Winter ’98‘ – A splendid intro to their new wave album as they feature a pre-recorded live audience, with a beat beginning in intervals. This in turn forms into a song that in ultimately gets our dancing feet started in a very Euro way.
“You Are” – A very catchy song since the start, it’s impossible not to dance! Especially towards the end the lyric, “I Want to Go Where We Cannot Be Found.” The accompanying xylophone-like melody fits so perfectly. Although Its dance-able, listeners cannot help but ignore the tint of reminiscing melancholia.
“Erosion” – A song that instantly brings back memories of Joy Division’s signature post-punk sound, and Robert Smith’s voice.
WORDS TO DESCRIBE CYMBALS: Catchy — 80s — Dancy
INTERESTING TIDBIT: The band actually took its album name from the Princeton author, Daniel T. Rodgers’ 2011 book where he posited that Western society underwent an epochal crisis of confidence following World War II. “…Viewed by its acts of mind, the last quarter of the century was an era of disaggregation, a great age of fracture.”
UPCOMING SHOWS:
Only a few shows in Europe have been made, but none close to Los Angeles. Keep an eye out for them when they do, you won’t want to miss out.
Cymbals’ new album, The Age of Fracture was released last week (Jan. 27th) via Tough Love Records. Listen to some tracks below and order the album here.
Words: Brissa Sanchez
