CMJ Music Marathon Highlights: Land Of Talk

The trio of northerly Indie-Rockers known as Land of Talk blew into New York City like a Canadian cold front last week for the CMJ Music Marathon, and then proceded to heat things up at venues all over the Lower East Side. Their sound simultaneously conjures archival rock like The Pretenders but yet feels as current as the sounds coming out of the Broken Social Scene camp.

The trio offered up a special never-before-attempted-or-rehearsed acoustic performance at White Rabbit on the afternoon of November 2nd, and although the set was as short as any other you may have caught at CMJ this year ('don't blink or you'll miss it' style), Land of Talk sounded as natural acoustic as they do on larger stages.

While the band expressed some uncertainty as to what the drum kit might consist of in this space, the absence of a bass drum was hardly noticeable because of the solid jazz-chops of drummer Bucky Wheaton. Elizabeth Powell's ethereal voice was particularly well-suited to the space, and besides his spot-on harmonies, you may notice in the clip that multi-talented bass player Chris McCarron somehow manages to sneak in some ironic punchlines on the bass.

You can sample two of the trio's finest songs in their acoustic format here, Seafoam and Summer Special, both of which appear on their album Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss. Canadian fans will be treated to a small run of shows with The Dears later this month, and then in December comes a not-to-be-missed pair of shows opening for The Slip, whose long-awaited album Eisenhower is now out and getting unanimous praise. Pick up your copy of this watershed record here.

To keep up to speed on Land of Talk's upcoming dates, visit the Land of Talk MySpace page.

View other CMJ Highlights here:

Earl Greyhound @ Gibson Guitar Showroom - November 1, 2006

Apollo Sunshine @ CMJ Music Marathon