Watching Lightning Bolts Fuck

The Blood Brothers “We Ride Skeletal Lightning” – I saw the Blood Brothers again last night at Irving Plaza, but I forgot to bring paper for notes, and so I don’t have the setlist. (Songs they definitely played: “Laser Life,” “Camouflage, Camouflage,” “Set Fire to the Face on Fire,” “Vital Beach,” “We Ride Skeletal Lightning,” “Lift the Veil, Kiss the Tank,” “Giant Swan,” “Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck,” “Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon”)

I actually don’t have many more new insights into their live show than I offered a few months ago — basically, they deliver songs of hysterical anguish with an appealing punk glamor, and the two vocalists contrast in a way that gives the show balance and dramatic tension. I noticed near the end that I’d barely even looked at the other musicians — Johnny Whitney and Jordan Billie are such magnetic and commanding presences that it’s hard to notice much else, even when the rest of the band is nailing their queasy rhythms and lacerating riffs. The band are at their most compelling when they marry their nauseous, angst-ridden hardcore to ersatz glam pomp, resulting in peppy stomps like “Laser Life” or the brilliant and vaguely excruciating “We Ride Skeletal Lightning,” which is best described by a phrase contained within its lyrics: “feral glittery drone.” (Click here to buy it from Insound.)

Also: Hey, let’s not forget about that Of Montreal karaoke show contest.