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a love letter to aberdeen city


Sometimes being a music fan is a lot like having a love affair or a serious relationship. When you find a band you cannot live with out, you fall hard and fast. Othertimes your love for a band builds gradually over time until you can't imagine how you ever functioned in life without them. Every album is a turning point, the highs and the lows of your connection, and if a band breaks up, sometimes your heart can break right along with them.

For me, the joy of falling love is paralled with my joy of finding and falling for a new band. While there are always bands that I will love the best and above all others, I guess the reason that I go out most every night to one show or another is that the rush of watching a spectacular set or hearing that one song you just cannot get out of your head performed live is one of the best feelings on earth. Right up there with love I'd say. Granted there are certainly bands that I simply lust after and then after giving them more serious listening and thought will look back on in hindsight as a "what on EARTH was I thinking" kind of thing. And so it goes.

This weekend I fell in love with this band Aberdeen City. I knew about them before I went to Mercury Lounge and posted some of their songs on here (see below), but I had never seen them live. First observation? People are crazy for this band. Seriously, the first three rows of the packed room at least were jumping around completely apeshit for most of their set, pumping their fists in the air for these boys from Boston (nope, not from the UK).

Second observation? This band is good. GOOD. They have some really excellent songs, a great sound. Someone recently called them "the band that sounds like what I had hoped Editors would be." And for me to even say that to you knowing my love for Editors is a big deal okay.

Third observation? They're cute. You knew that was coming, and no it's obviously NOT a prerequisite for me to EVER like a band, but it's a fact so there you have it.

and my final observation? They still have a lot of work to do. For instance tightening the reigns on their spastic guitar player who, while amusing to say the least with his crowd surfing and guitar-played-with-teeth antics, proved more distracting than anything else a few songs into their set. Trust me, having the crazy fun to watch character in your band can be a good thing (Marty from Pilot to Gunner or Robbie from CYHSY who jumps around a lot and imo makes the band 3829275892375 times more fun) but there comes a point where that can be detrimental unless you take it down a notch. But I think the more this band tours (they are going across the US now so go check out the tour dates on their webpage so you can see them!) and the more albums they put out the tighter they will get. They have a lot of potential to be something even more amazingly good than they are now.

So I have a bit of a crush on Aberdeen City. Someday I hope to take it to a full blown love affair. Only time will tell.

Here are two more songs, in addition to Sixty Lives (which is still my favorite):

Aberdeen City - God Is Going To Get Sick Of Me

Aberdeen City - In Combat

profanity equals intensity (that's what I learned from Stars)

mind the gap : the subways cross the pond

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