BANDS:

Punk & Ska
80's New Wave/
Post-Punk/
College Bands
90's & Beyond
Virginia, North
Carolina, & DC

Tel Aviv: Lay Me Down EP
[self-released]

Tel Aviv is a fairly recent incarnation. Formed in 2003, the three-member band is based in Arkansas, but their sound bears no resemblance to mental images of their home state. Sounding like late night New York and citing influences such as Clinic, Can, and Yo La Tengo, the Lay Me Down EP presages good things to come from Tel Aviv.

Sunburned LA opens the five-song set with Justin Fernandez on vocals, sounding vaguely Radiohead against a wall of guitar that descends into a collection of shakers, drum, and bass guitar loops a super-modern take on Brit-pop. Kyle Carpenter and Rett Peek on keyboards, drums and bass (each of them plays all three) fill out the trio.

About Hysteria keeps the gloom with a swooping keyboard and lyrics that were ripped from punk and set to a Krautrock rhythm. This reviewers favorite track is the slow-burning eight minutes of Vampire/DJ/Stripclub, which shimmers and wanders like classic Sonic Youth of the Bad Moon Rising era. Ill office and Securities close the EP on an angrier note. Fernandez can wail and growl with the best of them.

This reviewer will be interested to see what arises from these talented newcomers. If they can keep their melodies sounding as fresh as they are, yet reminiscent of the classic gods of punk and art-rock, Tel Aviv should be just beginning an illustrious career.

Tel Aviv Official Website

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