Piano’s
New York City
Words & Photos by Patrick Duffy
If you showed up to Pianos on Friday night there’s a chance you may have felt transported to another time. The calendar may have read 2010 but for all intents it sounded like and felt like 2004 again on the Lower East Side. Such is the effect Delorean‘s rocking pop sounds have on us, making us feel like we’re seeing a new DFA act for the first time and enjoying every second of their deliriously addictive power pop ballads. Which makes a lot of sense since Delorean have been making this type of music just as long as any of those guys have been.
The surprise is that it has taken this long for their music to start hitting us here in the States. For ten years the band has toiled in Spain, crafting intricate loops and layers, and with the strength of the Ayrton Senna EP and their new release Subiza they have finally become a buzz band on our shores. Of course it took some refining, their self-titled debut sounds like a Rapture cover band compared to the defining style of Subiza, but now that they have locked down the sound it has become a thrilling experience to hear their music and the live incarnation certainly captures that at every turn.
Like the Lower East Side in 2004, Friday night had the usual New York crowd – the kids at the front went nuts, moving around and fist pumping with passion and energy, while the scenesters and taste makers in the back nodded along trying to decide if this was truly cool or if they needed another beer to get them through the set. Those at the front had it right, they moved along with the powerful rhythms blasting from Igor Escudeo’s furious drumming, so fierce he was forced to tape his headphones in place to hear the music he was drumming along to. The band’s latest addition, guitarist Guillermo Astrain, fit in beautifully ripping riff after riff off and dancing along to each note like they were pouring out of his movement rather than from his fingers. Surrounded by keyboards and synths, Unai Lazcano seemed like a modern take on the Muppets‘ Animal with his lion-like mane swaying with each exuberant dance step. And like all the great front men, bassist and singer Ekhi Lopetegi was positively magnetic with the sweat pouring down his face.
For about an hour the band tore through new tunes, excited by the packed house and united by ten years of friendship and craftmanship. Few bands just making the jump have that sort of combination at the ready, but with it Delorean transcend mere hype to a band with actual talent and desire to continue on their chosen path. Their songs evoke so much in such a short time, on record it may sound chill and relaxed, but live it surges with energy and passion boiling over into exploding notes that damn near deafen as much as they enthrall.
After watching them rip through the song off Subiza it was hard not to think what could have been. Had this band been launched into the hype machine earlier they would easily be playing bigger venues, more suitable for the dancing their music so inspires. Instead we were crammed into the back of Pianos, a place that has propelled bands to greener pastures, but one that makes for a cramped, sweaty mess while those pastures are still being sodded.
Subiza is out on True Panther Sounds. Stay tuned for our exclusive interview and photo feature!
