Never Trust A Loner Who'd Rather Be In Love

One of the first independent NY bands I fell in love with upon moving here was The Ropes. The first time I saw them they were battling through a club's sound issues but made it work, and the second time I was catching them in the lower room of Webster Hall and I arrived 2 songs 'til the end and I was all janky on a pre-Fever Ray high, but both times they made their nervous, pop-flecked rub of the ADULT. coin work for the crowd and the space. On record, they take the sound steps further than their two-person all-hands-multitasking live show, and add incredible, hypnotizing droning elements that have me completely addicted.

Their entire web site is worth checking out because all of their recorded output is available in a pay-what-you-want format (though, believe me, this stuff is worth way more than whatever you bought at the record store on Tuesday, kid), but I'm especially drawn to their tongue-in-cheek take on attaching filmed images to their songs-especially this, an incredibly literal take on one of my favorites of theirs, "Professional Outsiders". The song's great, the lyrics are tattoo-worthy ("never trust a loner who’d rather be in love. don’t believe a rebel who's friends with everyone"), and The Ropes should be your new favorite band if they aren't your current favorite band.