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| photo by paul dunkley |
There Goes the Neighbourhood
You know what you are getting yourself into when you head to a sold out show of a new, young, up 'n coming indie pop band: young hipster (are we still using that term) girls. Lots of them. At the show only for the hot singer and the one radio hit.
I was ok with that.
What I didn't expect was the air of bastardry (new term I made up) these young boys from Thousand Oaks would be emanating.
Having only one hit off an album that came out about a year ago, these little twerps (old skool term) posed as if they were legends. Sure it's a catchy tune. Sure the lead singer, Jesse Rutherford, looked like a young tattooed Adam Levine (not that that's anything to brag about). Sure there were a lot of really young girls screaming at you from the crowd. But really? Why the attitude boys? It's very off-putting.
That said, after I refrained from punching Adam, I mean Jesse, in the face for fronting, I gave way to the music. Jesse is a very talented singer and frontman. Backed by two guitarists (Jeremy Freedman & Zach Abels), a bassists (Mikey Margott), and a very talented drummer (Bryan Sammis), The Neighbourhood effortlessly combined the elements of rock, R&B, and hip-hop to create their own bouncy sound. Most of the music sounds upbeat, but the lyrics have very dark undertones. I found myself dancing to most songs, except the really bad covers.
The Neighbourhood is talented, their music is catchy, and if you can get passed the "airs", I think they are heading upward. Damn kids!