I think I love: Netherfriends

A few weeks ago I went to the best South Jersey house show I've been to in ages. Most of the shows I've attended in the few weeks I've been hanging around here have made me feel like Alice when she eats the mushroom and suddenly becomes so uncomfortably overgrown that her limbs are poking out of the windows of the house; in a word: old. But then my friends' band played a show at this place called the 1619 House in Williamstown, which was a refreshing experience. It was also great to see some touring bands coming through, rather than, say, your friend's brother's new youthcore side project that you have probably seen eight times this summer, and not by choice, mind you.



Among the bands that played were Chicago's Netherfriends. They were fantastic. Though their set was marred by technical difficulties, they seemed really apologetic about it, not realizing the oft-forgotten maxim that if the music that happens in between technical difficulties is good, the next day nobody will remember that there even were technical difficulties to begin with. Which remains true, as now, a few weeks later, I can't remember what was wrong with their equipment, but I can remember the songs -- bursting with melody and kinetic energy. The Netherfriends' sound is warm and synth-y; some of their songs remind me a little bit of The Anniversary, which is high praise since even eight years later, I am poised to fight anybody who thinks Designing A Nervous Breakdown is anything less than a masterpeice. There's a little bit of Animal Collective in there too; the first part of "Nunya (Beeswax)" makes me feel like I'm in the Rainforest Cafe at that part when all the animals start waking up and squaking at each other one by one, in the most rocking way possible. Their EP, Home Is Where My House Is, is thoroughly terrific. Do yourself a favor and check these guys out.