It's two review Tuesday!

If I had the opportunity to buy a band and have them do my bidding (does that sound dirty?) then I would choose the Cheat. I had the pleasure to see The Cheat live last Christmas season at the Roxy. The same two thought running through my head.
1. This band is the shit
2. If I propositioned the bassist, would they kick me out of the venue?

Well, OK, maybe that wasn’t my exact thought process, but it was close.
The Cheat’s second EP (availabe on Itunes) seems to bounce from wanting to play easily soft indie rock and the kind of dark post-punk sound of Interpol. In the opening track of Drunk With Power shows how well the band works together. While lead singer Jesse Nolan croons softly, a repetitive acoustic guitar plays under the drums and bass. The boys of The Cheat harmonize well in all the songs, particularly in “Sooner or Later” which is vaguely reminscent of The Beatles. “Diet Coke At The Gap” makes it apparent that the band listens to a lot of Radiohead, the instrumentals are headier than the other songs, and Nolan channels his inner Justin Warfield. The lo-fi sounds in most of the songs make the band sound rawer than they are, and lyrically the band lacks an emotional connection that indie greats such as Death Cab and Rilo Kiley do. The bands sound needs to mature slightly, but I look forward to a full length album from these up and comers.
A-