Partying with the Ironclads

April 6, 2009

The Ironclads ::: Photo by Josh

When you’ve got a lot of friends that come out to your shows, you know you’ve got a good thing going. When you’re friends with every other band on the bill and when you go on, they are singing right along in the front row, you know you’ve got something really special. Such was the case for the Ironclads who were having a CD release party on Friday for their new album The Space Between the Maps, after playing a live KEXP session earlier in the afternoon.

Partners in crime and soon-to-be Ironclads tour-mates What What Now started the night off in an already nearly full room. Lead singer Brittain has a gravel to his voice that never seems to disappear when he’s singing, adding to the tinge of desperation that runs through the lyrics, and occasionally sounding like a weathered punk singer is fronting a 60’s pop band. Displaying a back-to-basics approach What What Now delivered an upbeat and groovy set that was a stellar start to the party. The Quiet Ones, who were up second, turned the lights down low and once again left me thinking about the Cars after their last two songs.

The protagonist’s of the night, the Ironclads, went on third to a packed room abuzz with the collective love that was on display in every corner. The band’s closest friends, a contingent that included members of each of the other bands who were on the bill, held down the front row; locking shoulders, singing along, and freaking out at all the right moments. Favorites of the night were, of course, “Alamogordo” and the fist pumping sing-along “Cape Canaveral”–a song which we’ve featured on the top of the front page for streaming this week in addition to this in this post.

Stream: “Cape Canaveral” by The Ironclads from their new album The Space Between the Maps out now!

We snagged their album at the show and it’s catchy as all-get-out. In addition to the aforementioned songs, “Step to the Sea” has a shiny quality that is undeniable and in “Manclub” the band matches recent heart-throbs MSHVB in transforming adventurous changes into an interesting rock song. The effusive energy of the band and the live show were ably captured in recording by Eli of the Hands and Jason of the Whore Moans, who, sure enough, were two of those front-row friends.

The Whore Hands, AKA the concatenation of the Whore Moans and the Hands into a single super-group of nine, capped off the night with a mini-hits set. When The Whore Hands started with one of my favorite songs ever “X-Ray Eyes,” the crowd was sent into a flurry of movement. In the center of the floor the overzealous drunks decided it was time to mosh, causing a bit of consternation after a turned over keyboard, that eventually led to a citizen ejection. A couple of lucky souls even managed to surf the crowd in the lulls between the bouts of activity in the pit. While likening the grouping to Temple of the Dog even in jest may be too much, the Whore Hands were certainly a fun way to garnish this night of celebration.

The Ironclads will be on a west coast tour with What What Now April 10th through the 19th. Check the myspace page for details. It looks like they’re still trying to find places to play in a few towns, so maybe one of our readers can help them out with that.