neworder coverage by Seattlest

Seattlest read enough "Band to Watch" articles to get either mildly excited or moderately annoyed at the latest Norwegian band to bring their act to the states – 120 Days (file under this year's Serena Maneesh). Formerly known as "The Beautiful People" – these fresh-faced Oslo boys had all the girls swooning at Chop Suey with a formulaic mix of Roland Samples and sexy drum beats (think New Order), oversaturated guitars (think My Bloody Valentine), and a singer with enough swagger and skill to make it all flow (um, Bono?). It's a sound with influences we dig; we just question the concept of originality. One thing is for certain though; their live show definitely lived up to the "Pitchfork-Hype" we expected to regret and the tinge of rock was a pleasant surprise from a band known for 9 minute songs. In fact, after listening to their latest self-titled release, most everything about this band surprised us – mostly their amazing on-stage energy. Not typical from a band with such shoe-gaze aspirations. We just wouldn't want to be their roadie – we've never seen so much damn equipment on stage for one band! 120 Days seem poised to assimilate most of North America as they close out a successful tour here on the West Coast. Holding it down on hump day, Seattlest took in all the experimental/ambientness we could handle from local opening bands Joy Wants Eternity and New Grey Area – unfortunately we probably needed to drop some E to really enjoy the mix of slide show and live show. Really now, that hasn't been done well since The Knife....