On Friday night, April 25, Cities Over Seas hosted a house show to celebrate the release of their new CD, National Phantom. Opening band The Assless Chaps played a variety of covers that got the audience dancing, such as three of Reel Big Fish’s greatest hits, poking fun at the concert that would happen the next day. They also played party hits like “Shout,” and “We Like to Party.” Although the group was humorous and fun, it wasn’t what the show-goers had come to see. When Cities Over Seas finally made their way to the front to play, the audience was wholly riled up and ready to hear tracks from the CD. The room was very small and the mix made it hard-to-impossible to hear the vocals and electronics. Regardless, the band used eye contact and cued each other in at the correct spots, guaranteeing that when they got lost they could find each other again. Many people in the crowd didn’t even notice the off-synchronization that happened at times, and were too busy dancing with friends. Clearly, a large percentage of the audience had heard some of the tracks either on the CD or on Myspace, and clapped along excitedly, despite the technical difficulties.
Madstop Records released National Phantom after several months of hard work from the members of Cities Over Seas and the record label. They are primarily an indie/electronic band, with influences such as Radiohead and The Postal Service. The CD is a mix of upbeat songs great for dancing, and darker, more introspective songs and lyrics. The band is already in the process of planning out the next album in their heads, but for now they are focusing on publicizing National Phantom and getting out there to perform.
National Phantom is available now at the College Bookstore. Hear tracks by Cities Over Seas on their myspace, http://www.myspace.com/citiesoverseas.
Photo credit: Amanda Stockwell
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