I hit up three shows in three days over this weekend, and they were all good.* But the biggest surprise was Cheerleader's opening set at last night's Caveman show at Schubas.** Prior to a couple hours earlier that Sunday I had never heard of Philadelphia's Cheerleader. I walked out of the venue a fan and haven't been able to stop streaming their debut full-length, The Sunshine Of Your Youth, today.
Cheerleader describes themselves as an "Indie Haze-Pop Quintet from Philadelphia" but that kind of undercuts their actual sound, since their songs are filled with bouncy hooks and a rhythm section that demands you dance, not gaze dreamily into the distance. And there's just something so solidly optimistic about their sound—something that doesn't feel like it happens all that often any more without the results being stifling. The Sunshine Of Your Youth is wide open and welcoming. So give into it.
If you only have time for a song or two, jump to "A Million Ways" or "Perfect Vision," and then just try not to listen to all the other songs. You'll be hooked.
*For the record: Friday was Matthew Sweet and Material Reissue at Park West and Saturday was Band Of Skulls—who were far better than I had expected and may now be my favorite frontrunner of all the heavy blues based bands, even outstripping The Black Keys at this point.
**Caveman was also really good, even pulling out a cover of The Stone Roses' "I Wanna Be Adored" for their encore, but to my ears the night really belonged to Cheerleader.
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