Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Sneaky Pete's, 16 Nov

It's great to see the elements being defied tonight, during one of the dreichest stretches of autumn weather in the capital; Sneaky Pete's is nearly full to the brim for Staten Island's Cymbals Eat Guitars. Though it's hardly a surprise, given the palpable Pitchfork buzz that's carried their acutely 1997-sounding college rock across from NYC to our weather-battered shores. Expectant ears are treated to engaging renditions of album highlights, peppered with odds 'n ends including a lovingly ramshackle cover of Elliott Smith's Ballad of Big Nothing. Plainclothes, a brand new song, shines the brightest in a set that is somewhat marred by a frustratingly muddy live mix. Ever the consummate musicians, Cymbals rise above the limitations of the in-house soundsystem with arrangements that sound tighter than a tripwire, despite their often being punctuated by vast swathes of noise that erode and adapt to the landscape of their quintessentially American brand of indie rock. [Ian Crichton]