The ACB’s – PIANOS, NY – 1st June 2011

(credit to Z.Petrov for this photo)

In truth, there’s a good chance I would not have heard of ‘The ACB’s’ if it wasn’t for my Kansas City (born and raised) gig going friend in NYC, Jerry. He has been banging, ‘The ACB’s’ drum for as long as I have known him and when they finally made it to New York for a few shows, it would have been rude not to have gone along to see what all the fuss was about.

The band has been around since 2006, and they released their self titled debut album in 2007. I understand that there was a lot of local gigging between the ACB’s initial release and the band’s latest effort, ‘Stona Rosa’. This album is laden with self-disparaging tunes comprised with quick fire, clever lyrics. The band is actually offering ‘Stona Rosa’ for a, ‘In Rainbows’ price i.e. pay what you want with no minimum (http://theacbs.bandcamp.com). It’s most certainly worth checking out if pop/indie is your preference. Influences include, The Beatles, The Beach Boys and even the king of pop, MJ. There are a few more recent bands that they can be compared to including Pavement, The Kings of Leon, The Strokes and Weezer.

‘The ACB’s’ started the show with, ‘Street Fighter II’ from their new release and this does sound in The Beach Boys mold with a quirky guitar sound and decent lyrics – “Fast asleep, I don’t want to see my girl again". This is followed by ‘You Did It Once’ which really reminded me of 90’s Britpop band, ‘Supergrass’ and more specifically their lyrics to Alright “We are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean” very comparable to the delivery on this track.

There are a number of songs that I have been able to find on the inter webs from the set list that I snagged on the evening of the gig, so I’m shooting a little bit in the dark with my scratchy notes on these following tracks. ‘Little Leaves’ was very Kings of Leon from the early days of KOL (not the commercial, Killersesque KOL that we are subjected to today). Raucous guitar sounds and quite simply, just good toe tapping tunage (and the obligatory skinny jeans).

‘Dana’ had me thinking back to Irish punk band, ‘The Undertones’ and their lead singer, Feargal Sharkey. Indeed, throughout this set, The ACB’s in their entirety display wonderful harmonies. Either, ‘Attic Fan’ or, ‘Xanies’ put me in mind of the, ‘The Jam’ with a heavy bass in the beginning and subtle vocals to accompany.

‘Boy Like Me’ is probably the most poppy of this set…perhaps a little too much so for me, but it is an extremely catchy tune and in some respects, The Strokes’ emanate from this one. From here, we get somewhat reggae in ‘Decide’. I like what I hear in, ‘I Wonder’ with almost effortless delivery from lead man, Konnor Ervin. He strikes me in appearance and vocals as a little bit, John Power of, ‘Cast’ and prior to that, ‘The La’s’ fame – “She's a number, nothing on her mind…she's a number, and I'm a waste of time.” Again, the harmonies in ‘Face’ are pulled off with fine aplomb, and once you’ve heard this song, you’ll soon realize that it’s no easy task to get through this one live.

Although, ‘Neon Light’ sounds a little hollow and empty on the album, it was fantastic live…chilled and proficiently delivered. On closing track, ‘Rulo’, Ervin begs, “I want a girl who can rock and roll”. From what I’ve seen and heard of the band, that might not be what they’re looking for. The girl next door type may be more their scene.

It's uplifting to watch a band in a small but well equipped venue where the lead singer’s vocals are not bypassed by the plethora of effects and distortions that many others turn to. There are a number of principles that indie/pop bands should follow if they want to be successful in the game. First and foremost, the delivery of short, sharp and sweet songs laden with clever guitar hooks is number fundamental. Secondly, lyrics need to be simple, effective and generally contain girls and relationship themes. Finally, in the delivery of those lyrics, there has to be plenty of opportunity for a bit of ad lib i.e. la-la-la-la’s. ‘The ACB’s’ tick all of those boxes. Lead man, Ervin hoots and hollers like a banshee…and it’s effective. Decent on I pod, far better live.  Rating 7/10

Set List: