Back in July of 2006 I went to a little club in Brooklyn for the first time, a nice joint called North 6. I’d gone to go see the almighty Latterman play, who didn’t disappoint. But opening up for the evening was The New Dress. There was just two of them, Laura Fiddler on vocals and Bill Manning on the guitar and vocals. It was pretty stripped down, and different from the mostly hardcore/punk bands that were also on the bill.

But there was something about them that really struck me, and after the show when I got home, I looked them up on Myspace. The New Dress, a folk and punk-inspired duo have been at it since 2004 and in the upcoming year will be releasing a full-length on Red Leader records. A fan after that night, I caught them twice after that first show, the second time when they opened up for the Queers the last time Joe Queer and company rolled into New York. This time, I managed to get my hands on a shirt (one of my favorite shirts now) and a copy of their home-made demo. I must have listened to that CD-R about four or five times the next day. Again a few months later I trekked to North 6 to see them perform for Red Leader’s CMJ showcase. The crowd had grown a bit more since that first time I’d seen them, and by now me, as well as most of the people in the crowd, were singing along to every word. Laura and Bill were pretty much just grinning the whole time while they played.

With the single guitar and folk influences, Against Me! came to mind as a comparison, but there’s definitely more to them than that, something that can raise The New Dress above an almost glut of folk-punk bands that seem to be popping up a lot these days. It’s pretty hard to describe them, but imagine a quiet soundtrack to all those nights you sat with someone on the curb in front of your house without anywhere to go and only wished that somehow, life would just be easier and you didn’t have to worry about love, war, and everything in between.

It’s rare that I can randomly come across a band that totally surprises me like they did. Not to sound jaded, but a lot of bands that I come across these days are pretty bad, so I it’s always a pleasant surprise to come across something I like, something just flat-out awesome. The simplicity of the dual vocals and electric guitar, combined with a sheer honesty and energy that can only come from a great love of music and life, is really fucking catchy. How can you not tap your toe and raise your fist to that?

Thanks to Rick Saporta for the photo.

The New Dress-Myspace
Red Leader Records

Tags: Band Spotlight, The New Dress //