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-- Joe Banno
The Cloud Room
The Cloud Room's lead singer, a gracious fellow who simply goes by J., declared Wednesday to be "Brooklyn Day in D.C." While borough mates and current indie darlings Clap Your Hands Say Yeah played a sold-out show at the 9:30 club, the Cloud Room's inspired if somewhat derivative performance before a crowd of not even 100 people at the Black Cat gave hints that those roles may soon be reversed.
The Cloud Room is clearly influenced by many of the same acts as the rest of its new-wave-revival brethren, but the quintet also has apparent arena-rock ambitions. J. used his guitar mostly as an adornment, as he often wailed while clutching the microphone like Coldplay's Chris Martin. Songs such as "Devoured in Peace" and "Beautiful Mess" floated along innocuously until they reached rousing choruses showcasing J.'s soaring vocals. Although most songs followed this same formula, they were salvaged by J.'s magnetic personality and captivating voice.
The night's standout was "Hey Now Now," a could-have-been smash from last year's debut album. The galloping drums, chiming guitars and mindlessly catchy lyrics ("Hey now now/We're going down down/And we ride the bus there/And pay the bus fare") proved irresistible and encouraged the first movements of the night from what had been a calm, polite crowd.
The 45-minute set ended with the slightly funky "Blue Jean," a special request from the group's "youngest fan in the world," a 5-year-old girl who was there with her parents. A couple of band members even came out to talk to her after the show. She may have been tired at school the next day, but she had quite the story for her classmates -- one that will only grow in stature if the Cloud Room's appeal matches its aspirations.
-- David Malitz
