Imagine the following statement shouted through a megaphone:
“Excuse me! Hello!?! Record Company Execs? Pete Wentz? Decaydance Records? Kara Dioguardi? Anybody!?! Sign. M-lab. They are audio gold. Or no, eff gold. These guys are platinum. Or something even more valuable than platinum that I can’t think of right now. Sign them now. Seriously.”
These are the sentiments I felt watching M-Lab play Friday night at Mercury Lounge on Manhattan’s Lower East side. Trust me, I understand the laborious, complex nature of sifting through NYC-based rock bands looking for the next Interpol, but this is what I’m telling you; I’ve done some of the work for you.
M-Lab is the kind of band where you know you’re in for something special the moment they take the stage. Drew Brody’s soaring and emotive vocals invoke a sort of Bono-Jimmy Gnecco love-child, Derek Gregor pounds the ivories and wins the “Most Rocking Dude to Play the Piano/Key Board that isn’t Matt Bellamy” award, Mike White’s pocket drumming and Nate Stevens bass guitar backbone/costume change into a black A-shirt keep the beast that is the band barking to the same beat (sorry, had to use four ‘B’ words in a row, it’s a contract obligation).
Those four guys plus new guitarist Kevin Hunter and frequent guest, violinist Skye Steele pump out a flawless set and do something that few bands accomplish: a live performance that enhances their music. So many bands have a live show where they just cope with their songs. They reduce the intricacy, they simplify solos, they cut harmonies resulting in critics referring to them as a ‘studio band,’ a band that can’t take its sound on the road.
Not M-Lab. Using their self-described “piano based dramatic rock” they suck listeners into a world of incredibly tight, well composed songs with amazing fervor and emotion.
If forced at gunpoint to liken them to other mainstream rock groups I would no doubt blurt “U2! Muse! Ours!” then collapse in a heap out of sheer terror. So they’re not exactly background music. In fact the only people I heard talking over their set were two women standing behind me who were absolutely, unequivocally, hands down, completely wasted.
Some gentlemen from Fordham University had obviously taken money out of their parent’s bank accounts and were plying these women with mixed drinks. Each time one of the inebriated women would bump into me or accidentally elbow me, one of the “gentlemen” would lean over and say “Sorry buddy,” and give me a look that suggested he was winning some bet we had made earlier. I’m pretty sure they took my silence and narrowed eyes as a sign that their antics would probably be more appreciated at New York Dolls because they slid away about half-way of the way through the show.
Of the myriad compliments you could relish upon M-Lab, the one that immediately comes to mind and keeps forcing its way to the forefront is: radio ready. Pop rock tunes like ’21st Century Aristocrat’ and ‘Take Time’ have the rare ability to rock your face off while you’re trying to sing along. Up-tempo ditties like ‘Leaving You Behind’ get the ladies drinks in the air and their hips swaying. Their slower power-ballads ‘Celsius’ and ‘Shot in the Dark’ have a heart wrenching ebb and flow that’s heightened by the bands uncanny synchronicity and awareness. I should note that Drew dropped a hint during the set that their new album might be called ‘Shot in the Dark.’ Stay tuned to their website for updates on the release.
Their canon is so dynamic, so large, so powerful, so emotionally fueled, that it belongs in a stadium. M-Lab’s sound could fill an arena and shake its walls with their choruses. If I had one wish, it would be for Jessica Alba to return my phone calls. But if I had another wish, I would wish to see M-Lab play a packed MSG or Giants Stadium. Their sound is ready. Is the industry ready? In the meantime, I’ll be the guy on the corner with the megaphone: “Hey! Hey! Hello! Interscope!?! Columbia!?! Sign M-Lab.”
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