Every so often there comes along an album that grabs our by the gut and twists—hard. LOSE, the upcoming LP from New York indie rockers Cymbals Eat Guitars, is one such album. LOSE was inspired by and written in the wake of the death of frontman Joseph D’Agostino’s close friend. The album wails with grief—that fleshy sound that is born out of the anger and love that so often characterizes loss.
This is especially true of “Jackson.” It’s a full-bodied lament, and the physicality of the vocals is pretty astonishing. D’Agostino mixes his usual full on scream-like singing style with softer edges, showing the song’s emotional peeks and valleys in the alternative falsetto whispers and full volume shouting. This is mirrored in the dynamics of the melody, the track itself opening with a soft piano line that explodes into a mess of moaning guitars before taking another step back, so D’Agostino can open with the lines, “You’re taking two Klonopin / So you can quit flipping / And face our friends.”
The result is as heartbreaking as it is powerful; the music folds over you and you become drowned in the emotional waters of the band’s lyrics.