Black Book and French Kicks
I went to a Black Book magazine party at 1Oak in Chelsea last night as I work near them with my new job. I was feeling kind of sick after some bad sushi but did my best to drink through it with the complimentary Skyy Vodka. I ended up having a good time anyway. I think I saw the guy who won the last Project Runway there. Around 11 I was invited to see the French Kicks @ Mercury Lounge. Its hard for me to turn down a concert opportunity so I went for it. I enjoy Mercury Lounge as well.
I had seen them probably like 3-4 years ago at Opolis in Norman, OK and hadn't really listened to them much since their first album One Time Bells. I keep hearing positive things about their new album but was kind of skeptical at first. I did enjoy the show quite a bit although it was a bit of a blur later in the night. We got there after they had already played a few songs. I recognized a couple of the old songs but it was mainly all newer material. It was a good show from what I remember of it.
I listened to the new album Swimmers at least 3-4 times today and it was much better than I expected it to be. They've really tightened up their sound and seem more experienced but not too forced or derivative of another band. Its nothing totally groundbreaking, but its inspired and has a nice cohesive flow to it. We'll see if it lasts but I'm really into it so far.
