Lazy Lions at Crash Mansion, NYC 7/2/08

In what seems a millisecond, Lazy Lions have roared out of nowhere into the upper echelon of NewYork bands. Their new debut cd Keep Your Love Away is a promising indication of what they could deliver live, but Wednesday night at Crash Mansion the sharply literate, retro 80s new wave rock quartet outdid themselves, slamming the audience with one wickedly crafted gem after another. Playing to a good crowd, especially for early on a weeknight, Lazy Lions reaffirmed that the best lyrically-driven acts can still rock with anyone. Graham Parker is the obvious influence, but there’s a lot of vintage, late 70s/early 80s Elvis Costello in there too.

 

Their opening track, possibly titled Your Nightmare Now set the tone for the rest of the night: jaundiced, sardonic and driven by not a little righteous rage, its catchy, punchy changes pushed along by a tough rhythm section of Mick Morris (who also sang spot-on harmonies) on drums and the uncommonly tuneful, reliably interesting Anne-Marie Stehn on bass. They followed that with a pounding, minor-key number sarcastically called It’s Just the Night, driven by slashing, reverb-drenched chordal work from guitarist Robert Sorkin. A bouncy, upbeat soul-inflected tune made fun of fussy daters who “aren’t coldhearted, they’re just scientific.” The best song of the night was Help Is Not Exactly on the Way, the centerpiece on the new cd, drenched in darkly witty apocalyptic humor. A quieter minor-key number featuring Sorkin arpeggios over a menacing tom-tom beat reminded a lot of Melomane. They closed with a fiery version of the amusing Magellan in Reverse, a playful approach to the concept of getting really lost.

 

Frontman Jim Allen (who also plays keys on the album) sang in a casually defiant white soul voice very reminiscent of Graham Parker at the peak of his new wave powers. Allen isn’t exactly your typical pretty frontboy: a powerfully built, somewhat hulking presence, he took command of the stage. The rest of the band have a similarly tough rock aura about them: they’d scare the bejeezus out of a Williamsburg crowd. They’re tight beyond belief: big record labels used to line up in front of bands like this and throw gobs of money at them. How times change. At the end of the year, it’s a good bet you’ll find this show on our top-ten list.