As some of my friends and fellow bloggers set about to recap their CMJ adventures, I began to recall my own CMJ experiences fondly. Despite the fact that I had an inarguably great time at CMJ this year, I can't shake the feeling that last year brought it harder. I only attended two days of CMJ 2011 but what an eventful, discovery-laden two days they were. One of my new music discoveries was the blistering rock of Atlanta's Balkans which have since gone on hiatus. Carrying on however is former front-man Frankie Broyles. One of the most endearing aspects of Balkans amazing set was oddly enough after when I met them and Frankie revealed himself to be ill. Getting over Mono to be exact. Incredible.
While Frankie didn't play CMJ this year, he's certainly been going strong since striking out on his own last year, playing shows with Atlas Sound, Carnivores, and Lotus Plaza. While the punky jangle of his Balkans days has more or less been stripped due to lack of band members, Broyles still finds a way to recall the classic Strokes-esque cool that drew me to Balkans as well as an understated calm that fits Broyles vocals. The tracks on his tour cd are all actually a little hard to pin down.
Electronic-based without giving in entirely, Broyles music is about much more than dance-y beats and cool tricks like a multitude of electronica artists and isn't quite raw enough to fit neatly into a singer-songwriter type box. Instead Broyles offers up a less surging, less incendiary form of rock than his Balkans days. It's softer without completely losing it's bite and tracks like "Color Set" and "Capturer" can soundtrack much more than lazy day chill sessions.
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