How in the hell does any band get itself across at CMJ? And doubly, how in the hell does a band get through to people as the leadoff act at a day show, on a Saturday? If you’re not fighting hangovers, it’s crowd chatter, and if it’s not those things, it’s garden-variety ennui. At that point, even people who love music are rapidly approaching Peak Music — your little band barely stands a chance.
Luckily nobody told Negative Scanner any of that. The Chicago band gave those of us who showed up early to the Trouble In Mind Records CMJ showcase the kick in the gut we needed to shake off the night before and remember why we were there — for that matter, why CMJ exists at all. A newly-signed band with more or less one 7-inch and some out of print cassettes to their name (plus a 2015 full length on the way), Negative Scanner define the kind of fresh talent that a music festival needs — that music needs — to be relevant. Their sound, raucous but tight post-punk a bit in the vein of early Sleater-Kinney, relies only Rebecca Valeriano-Flores’s aggressive, yelped vocals, but a crack band that clearly not only bothers to practice, but aspires to bigger things. This spirit got captured early on in the band’s first Craigslist ad, recounted by Impose Magazine: “Bands we like include Wire, The Fall, Siouxie and the Banshees, Video, Total Control. NO FLAKES, NO DRUNKS, PRO GEAR, PRO ATTITUDE.” Harsh, maybe, but the attitude paid off. Negative Scanner don’t just get your fists pumping with their energy; they sound good while doing it.
Most of this set is not available in recorded format, other than some live sets you can find floating around on Chicago venues’ bandcamp pages. So take this as a bit of a preview of the greatness to come, and be on the watch for this band in 2015. They’re the best act I hadn’t already heard of that I saw at CMJ.
I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41 supercardiod microphones in our usual spot in the venue, combined with a high-quality soundboard feed from Rough Trade engineer Cam. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!
Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]
Stream the full set:
Negative Scanner
2014-10-25
Trouble In Mind CMJ Showcase
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY USA
Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Schoeps MK41 (DFC, PAS, at SBD)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Cam)>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks
01 Ivy League Assholes
02 Pastel Blue
03 CPD
04 Pity
05 Would You Rather
06 AWOL
07 Saturday Nite, Sunday Morning
08 Planet of Slums
09 Fan vs. Wild
10 Criticism
11 Ambitious People
12 Evening News
If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Negative Scanner, visit their Tumblr page, and buy the Ambitious People 7″ at Trouble In Mind records.
This is why I love what you do. You have turned me on to something brand new & it is a kick in the pants! (and its not the first time).
Thank you, thank you & thank you!
Wow, what a nice comment — thank you! That’s certainly a big reason that I do it, so I’m so glad you appreciate that!
Tremendous.