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Minneapolis’ own BNLX took the stage at NYC’s Pianos Thursday night, playing a 45-minute set for a small, but engaging audience. The backroom of Pianos where the band played is of the typical Lower East Side size: tiny. With roughly 30 people in the audience, the place, though not crowded, was filled.
With lights arranged like a life size Lite-Brite projected onto the stage background, BNLX started their show promptly at 10:00 with a quick introduction then going straight to the music. At first glance, the band members, Ed Ackerson, Ashley Ackerson, and David Jarnstrom, seem a bit out of place to be playing in a grungy-ish LES bar, (Ed looks like the brother of Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard), but by mid-set all the members are becoming more comfortable, perhaps feeding off from the audience’s encouraging applause and woo!’s in between songs, especially from one audience member in the front enthusiastically rocking out and singing along. (Or maybe from the random guy, who came in and danced throughout the crowd, trying to sell light-up mini-tambourines.)
BNLX’s music is strong and their sound is tight. They produce an awesome combination of alternative, indie, post-punk, and classic rock, but at times their vocals are missing an edge or strength to match the music. Their newer songs like “Opposites Attract” seem to work better with both Ed and Ashley’s voices. “BNLX Today” from their newly released album, Produit Collecté, and “Permagaddan” are a couple of their strongest songs, the first blending in a bit more indie rock than their other songs and the second being more of a classic rock song. Overall, BNLX played a solid set and had the audience moving throughout the show.
With lights arranged like a life size Lite-Brite projected onto the stage background, BNLX started their show promptly at 10:00 with a quick introduction then going straight to the music. At first glance, the band members, Ed Ackerson, Ashley Ackerson, and David Jarnstrom, seem a bit out of place to be playing in a grungy-ish LES bar, (Ed looks like the brother of Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard), but by mid-set all the members are becoming more comfortable, perhaps feeding off from the audience’s encouraging applause and woo!’s in between songs, especially from one audience member in the front enthusiastically rocking out and singing along. (Or maybe from the random guy, who came in and danced throughout the crowd, trying to sell light-up mini-tambourines.)
BNLX’s music is strong and their sound is tight. They produce an awesome combination of alternative, indie, post-punk, and classic rock, but at times their vocals are missing an edge or strength to match the music. Their newer songs like “Opposites Attract” seem to work better with both Ed and Ashley’s voices. “BNLX Today” from their newly released album, Produit Collecté, and “Permagaddan” are a couple of their strongest songs, the first blending in a bit more indie rock than their other songs and the second being more of a classic rock song. Overall, BNLX played a solid set and had the audience moving throughout the show.
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BNLX at Pianos, New York (11/21/13) |
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