Can't Stop Not Knowing

Great band name. Great CD title. Great Consequence of Sound report of TNL shut down by the NYPD for rocking so loud it was disrupting the concentration of neighboring CMJ Festival performers (if John Cage weren't dead, I might be concerned). And, no, this isn't the kind of LOUD (dissonance, chaos, "out" experimentation) that put Sonic Youth or Glenn Branca on the map. Nor should it be confused with the gentle acoustics on the Kings of Convenience's Quiet Is the New Loud.

First time I hear the six-song EP, I'm turned off by the electronics. I'm under-impressed by vocals and tones mirroring a lot of ’80s electro-pop (since I didn't like it then either, it's hard to spout names, but I'm thinking Duran Duran, latter-day/more watered-down XTC, and, from later in the day, Radiohead, whose "2+2=5" is covered here). By the second spin I'm hearing a lot of fun and energy. The third listen's the charm: I'm getting a sense of humor not unlike that of Imperial Teen or the B-52s, along with a wellspring of passion and contagious New Order beats. I'm anticipating the upcoming full-length. Like Can't Stop, it will be mixed by local musician/producer Mark Trombino (RFTC, Drive Like Jehu, Jimmy Eat World, blink-182).

• Album title: Can't Stop Not Knowing (2009)
• Artist: The New Loud
• Label: Self-released
• Songs: (1) Don't Dance (2) 2+2=5 (3) Heaven (4) The Short Way To Get You (5) Every Girl I See (6) Heaven