Japandroids @ Siren Fest

Every year hundreds of good up and coming bands play the CMJ Music Marathon, and every year the media jumps on the bandwagon of the same 5-10 bands, while a load of other great bands become overlooked because of the media’s inability to think for themselves. This is not to say recent festival favorites like Crystal Antlers, Passion Pit, Dan Deacon, Muslims (Soft Pack), Monotonix and Black Kids weren’t good, but they were basically the only bands out of hundreds that anyone was talking about. Ruby Suns and Unicycle Loves You were tragically overlooked last year

It’s day 1 of CMJ, and people are just picking up their badges but thanks to all of the blog hype preceding the festival, I’m already sick of hearing about these 10 “must-see” bands:

Japandroids
Male Bonding
Surfer Blood
Surf City
Rain Machine
The Antlers
The xx
The Very Best
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Real Estate

This is not meant to be negative towards the bands. I am actually very excited to be seeing a few of these bands this week. The Antlers’ record is one of the best of 2009. Kyp Malone’s Rain Machine was excellent at their debut concert at Bell House a month ago. Cymbals Eat Guitars are a refreshing return to rock guitar for a Brooklyn scene lost in shitty lo-fi fuzz. And The Very Best are excitingly eclectic.

I’m not as tuned in as in the past with up and coming bands, but while everyone else is standing outside crowded venues looking for a chance to catch Sub Pop’s latest signing Male Bonding or good-on-record-but-boring-live Real Estate and The xx, here’s 10 bands that won’t be a disappointment, because no one’s been hyping them to unreachable heights:

Paul & The Patients: Singer Paul Holmes has one of the best rock voices to come out of New York City in years.
Wed. 10/21 @ Southpaw (8:30), Fri. 10/23 @ Arlene’s Grocery (11:15)

Deleted Scenes: You won’t hear the same song played on repeat for an entire set, yet each song will be brilliant.
Tues. 10/20 @ Cameo (7:00), Thurs. 10/22 @ Union Hall (10:00)

Freshkills: A dark haunting post-punk band that actually isn’t concerned with their image as much as their sound.
Tues. 10/20 @ Lit (10:15)

Pete & The Pirates: The best English rock band you haven’t heard.
Wed. 10/21 @ Bell House (12:00am)

Loxsly: Part Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips, part Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-era Wilco. I know that sounds ridiculous, but this band is really that good.
Thurs. 10/22 @ Union Hall (7:00), Sat. 10/24 @ Spike Hill (10:00)

Dinosaur Feathers: A tropical pop adventure.
Thurs. 10/22 @ Bruar Falls (9:30)

Bear in Heaven: An experimental, psychedelic headtrip that doesn’t lose track of melody.
Fri. 10/23 @ Lit (11:00)

Ravens & Chimes: Leonard Cohen-approved orchestral rock, not unlike CMJ-vets Arcade Fire.
Fri. 10/23 @ Mercury Lounge (9:00)

Grandchildren: One of my favorite chance discoveries of the past year, on a late night at Death By Audio Philly’s Grandchildren not only blew us all away once with their Radiohead-influenced experimental rock, but most of the band continued on with a 2nd equally amazing set as Rad Racket.
Wed. 10/21 @ Le Poisson Rouge (11:00)

*Broadcast: Okay, so they’re a well known band, and headlining one of CMJ’s post popular shows, but this wonderful atmospheric electronic band deserves more attention than they’re getting. If everyone wasn’t going to these shows for Bradford Cox’s wonderful Atlas Sound, it’s doubtful these shows would be getting much press at all.
Tues. 10/20 @ Le Poisson Rouge (11:00), Wed. 10/21 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (11:00)