The Rouge, and the Still City at the Black Sheep

Above: The Still City

The first superlative that must be offered is, professional. The Rouge, above all sounded polished and unwavering as a band on the rise should. However, there comes a time to which the singer of a band has to choose to respect the audience or simply look upon them with the same solipsism as he does his bathroom mirror. The Rouge front man chose the latter. Allegedly approached by Atlantic, they have a clear package of commercial image, sound, and bravado, but perhaps the best way to characterize the band is what the lead singer offered in way of their aspirations. They submitted an offering to one of the Twilight movie soundtracks (which one is irrelevant) and from what I gather was declined. They are shooting for a place on the list of high-fad, the modern day hair band, and that should say it all.

The Still City have delivered a handful of shows since their album We Will Explain Everything, was released on December 1, 2009. From that debut their live show has added a tone of unity and balance providing another level of communication through their music. I’ve heard them characterized as close to Death Cab for Cutie although their verve suggests more of  Say Anything or Barcelona but more direct. Well, that does it for third-tier comparisons. For a more mainstream analog, the Still City is the equivalent of the Shins, heartbroken and loud. Look forward to experiencing the harmonic catharsis again.

The Rouge and the Still City are playing the Marquis Theater with the Photo Atlas Thursday, March 11, 2010.