Sometimes the “anticipation of loss” is just as crippling as loss itself. LOSE confronts that anxiety head-on, with striking resiliency. But it also explores “loss” from the opposite angle, as D’Agostino mourns his youth, his innocence—and his best friend and former bandmate, Ben High, who died suddenly from a heart-related condition in 2007.
After Lenses Alien, Cymbals Eat Guitars almost seemed destined to be stuck in ’00s buzz band semi-obscurity. This was no fault of the band’s own; sometimes great bands get lost in the ether due to their own consistency or because more headline-grabbing acts overtake the spotlight. With the band’s emphatic peak, LOSE, it’s now impossible to overlook D’Agostino and his bandmates. Channeling profound loss, once-buried emotions, and a stronger sense of songwriting, these Staten Islanders have created something cathartic, life-affirming, and important.
The Fat Angel Sings 