Michael Cera Palin gives L.A.’s illuminati hotties, who rolled through town a couple months back, some competition for the year’s most ridiculous band name that I also kind of love. I dig the trio’s sound, too. I’ve thumbed my nose at the so-called “emo revival” of recent years that thankfully seems to have died down. But while I find that most new stuff of this ilk tries way too hard (looking at you, The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die), something about MCP’s riffs and attitude makes me think these are legit swell guys and are probably tons of fun live. They’re super melodic and driving in the tradition of bands like Braid and Cap’n Jazz (or if you’re younger, Algernon Cadwallader), who wore their emotions on the sleeves of their moth-eaten sweaters but also wrote tight, concise, joyous songs. If you too never made it to the Fireside Bowl in Chicago in the late ’90s and cry a little bit about it every day, check Michael Cera Palin’s recent Bandcamp EP I Don’t Know How to Explain It and join me at this early-evening pizzeria show for some consolation. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
Michael Cera Palin w/Banana Frequency & Micah McCasland
