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| Joe, Angie, Mars- Aye Nako |
Band: Aye Nako
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Recommended If You Like: The Weakerthans, Discount, Cheap Girls
Good pop-punk doesn't get boring. Brooklyn-based 3-piece
Aye Nako achieve this goodness with all of their songs - that's no small feat. Aye Nako is a smile inducing, boppy, poppy-punk band that makes my heart feel good. At their shows you can find me dancing, singing along, air drumming, two-stepping, and some other sort of dorky, improvised movement. How can I not smile when this band reminds me of Cheap Girls and Element 101?
Like Krista Ciminera of Zombie Dogs said in her
review of Aye Nako, the bands lyrics are sad, serious, and sweet, all at the same time. In this respect, it's easy to solely think the band is sweet just because the music sounds that way. It's easy to get distracted by the feel good vibe of their music. The band has been playing a few new songs live at their recent shows at Death By Audio, which seem pretty serious. Singer Mars has introduced some of the songs as being about growing up queer, growing up with an abusive brother, and dreaming about being a gay man. Deep subjects to bring up. It makes me excited to hear their new songs live now, so I can pay better attention to the lyrics.
The band's signature song is
“Molasses," from their demo tape. Every time I hear it I can't help but sing along. It's a cute little love song that's super catchy. It's always fun hearing “Molasses” live when the line, “slow like molasses slow,” comes up and a group of us sing along with all the enthusiasm we have, grin on our faces, with our arms huddled around each others shoulders.
Then, there's the standout one-minute long hardcore song called
“Good Grief,” with its angry lyrical tone. It seems like a random song for a pop-punk band but it works. The aggressively fast punk styled hardcore tune matches perfectly.
The third song I enjoy from them is an older song called
"Curb Appeal," that the band released under the name Fleabag without drummer Angie. I can whistle along to this song, I can dance to this song, and darn it, this is just a good song to put on a mix for a crush. The demo this song is on is worth
listening to.
When I saw Aye Nako at the
Queers, Beers, and Reers party at Public Assembly in September, the song moved me so much that I started two-stepping. I didn't care if I was the only one doing so (in my work clothes) - those around me gave me dance room. See, I used to care what people thought when I danced but Aye Nako is one of the few bands I can honestly say makes me feel good when I see them live and takes away any hint of embarrassment I might otherwise have had. It's fun music and it's music that I'll move to in any which way I want. No one can tell me how I can dance and I don't feel like I can't when I see them. In the past people have told me not to headbang to Kimya Dawson or jump during Modern Life is War and I got totally bummed. But no one can tell me how I can express myself at a show and if there's one thing I can say about Aye Nako, it's that their shows are generally filled with folks just like myself who simply love the band and want to have a good time. That's my kind of show and that's partly what has me coming back to their shows. Another reason is because Aye Nako plays with good bands, usually ones I know but also some I don't, which is a good balanced show in my book.
This year I've seen Aye Nako seven times – a number I'm fortunate enough to have made. I've seen them play with Dead Dog, Hot Mess, Songs for Moms, Dead Ringer, Sleepies, Worriers, RVIVR, Claire's Diary and most recently P.S. Eliot and The Two Funerals. It's been fun following the band around in their hometown of Brooklyn.
