That ominous marching sound you hear behind you isn’t the long-awaited sleeper cell of Al Qaeda operatives activating, ready to wreak havoc on the Galleria. No, it’s the endless procession of garage-rock bands coming lockstep out of NYC like cloned, leather- and artfully ripped-jeans-clad automatons. Luckily, Brooklyn’s the Break-Up — while mining a Ramones/Nuggets/Robert Smith lode — has something else going for it: good ol’ unbridled enthusiasm. That’s right, on the band’s debut EP, She Went Black, the quintet sounds like it’s actually having a good time on raucous ravers like “Don’t Save Me,” “Waiting for the Snow” and the title track. Formed in 2003 purportedly after the five members each suffered a loss in their long-term relationships (hence the name), they’ve built a Gotham rep based on the frenetic nature of their live shows. On record, it’s Allie F.’s keyboards that stand out — and not just because she’s the only girl in the group, and a hot one at that.
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2005.
