Hockey at the Casbah 1/18/10
I really should title this “Why Bands Should Want Their Song Played on Commercial Radio” because without radio playing their single “Too Fake”, there is no way that Hockey would have sold out the Casbah on a rainy Monday night. They previously played The Loft at UCSD so selling out the Casbah was a little surprising to me. No knock on the band at all, just an observation about the people who usually come to Casbah shows. This crowd was full of first timers and it showed. Which is why we didn’t make it past the first few songs. Again, not a knock on the band, because they sounded great. So in lieu of a show review, you will get an album review since I’m sure some people are curious as to whether or not they are a band you want to get to know…
Artist: Hockey
Album: Mind Chaos
Recommended if you like: early Rapture (the single really reminds me of “House of Jealous Lovers")
From the press kit:
“Like MGMT? How about CSS or the Klaxons? Well meet your new favorite band...they’ll be around for a while"---Spin.com
Standout Tracks: “Song Away","Wanna Be Black”
Worth a second listen?:
The band comparisons from the Spin quote give you a starting point for their sound, though they are definitely not as trippy dippy as MGMT. If you’re inclined to like the dancy side of alt rock, then, yes, you will like this. The album does not deviate too far from the formula of “Too Fake”. BTW, the single has been hanging on the alt rock charts since October (first mentioned here in my weekly radio chart post on 10/7), but it’s never broken the top 20. The new single “Song Away” impacts radio on 2/9, so I’ll be keeping an eye on the charts for it.
More info: myspace/official
Listen: “Too Fake” on Jimmy Fallon (wvx file - windows media)
