Oh no.
I’m starting to fear we programmed these semi-final rounds a little too well.
For the second week in a row, the night’s winner made the cut by a razor-thin margin and even the last place band wasn’t far behind on the scoreboard.
Ultimately, Sea Nanners, the energetic, up-and-coming indie rockers took the night after a dynamic set of recklessly sweet, driving anthems that sound right in place in the taste-making musical corners of the blogosphere. In fact, it’s hard not to see Nanners’ planned mid-April release of their debut 7″ (“Queen of the Brodeo”) as a knock at that very door. The sound—driving, jittered and tethered around vocalist Thom Asewicz’s wildly inventive, contorted vocals and melody lines—would be right at home alongside current critical darlings. No doubt there are similarities to be found between Sea Nanners and whatever noises are “in” right now, but it seems last night’s winners have sprung from entirely different reference points than, say, Cloud Nothings or The Drums. It’s still an earnestly indie-minded endeavor, no doubt, but the strong overtones of ’80s-era Springsteen and college rock progenitors The Feelies give the band a unique voice that sets them apart from its peers, national and otherwise.
Check out what the judges had to say after the jump.