Cab Ellis has been up to somethin’ good.
Jazz-trained and indie-rock-blooded, Cab Ellis is a 7-piece gang of maniacs breathing fresh life into the New York City underground alternative rock scene. At the end of June, Cab Ellis released their third studio album, Cab Ellis. Like their previous two records, Nighttime OCD (2020) and The East Coast Hold On (2022), Cab Ellis’s self-titled album eludes generic conventions. Cab Ellis slips between the warbling solemnity of low-country blues, the syncopated ecstasy of jazz, and the explosive jubilance of indie rock.
Cab Ellis’s opening track, “Brand New Chair,” begins like a tumbleweed, with a few preparatory strums of the guitar and an eerie trill from a harmonica. Soon, the song picks up speed. The hushed introduction of a hi-hat grins. As soon as vocalist Connor Abeles joins the growing clang and clatter, the song nudges its listeners, as though to say, “You didn’t think we were going soft on you, did you?” Still rabid as ever, the band once again proves themselves champions of pacing. Cab Ellis is motherfucking back, baby.
After I finished scratching some notes down about it, a friend asked my opinion of the album. I told him that, while rifling through my hastily written thoughts, I noticed the descriptor “sincere” appear repeatedly. To be clear, Cab Ellis has never not been sincere. But there is something different about the sincerity that permeates their new record. Cab Ellis throws itself into the world without expecting anything in return. It pauses and mourns, reflects momentarily, then shrugs its still-heavy shoulders and steps forward with an open heart. Each of the songs on this record capture this feeling with masterful precision, but especially “You’re Too Far Along,” “Circle Back ‘Til We Do,” and “When You Get By.”
In fact, as opposed to translating them into a more cohesive paragraph for you, I’m just going to re-type my notes for “You’re Too Far Along” as they appear directly in my notebook:
‘kept on saying I couldn’t hear you just to get your lips to touch mine…’ omg wtf. tears. Sincere as hell. Sitting in the laundromat nursing heartache feels like the right context to be jotting notes down to this one lmao fuck ! ? !
Yet, even the periodic heartbreak Cab Ellis evokes is punctuated by deep warmth. “Circle Back ‘Til We Do” and “When You Get By” both sound like what having a living room full of cherished friends feels like. Cab Ellis leans tastefully into group vocals in the choruses of both songs, relieving the heartache wrought by “You’re Too Far Along” with a togetherness that refuses to be toppled. Not to mention, the fluid strumming pattern in “Circle Back ‘Til We Do” is utterly hypnotic. The guitar rolls through your speakers like water.
“Crumbs of the Crumbled World” was released as a single back in April, following the album’s opener “Brand New Chair.” Even after listening through the rest of the album, I still find myself gravitating back to this one constantly. “Crumbs of the Crumbled World” is one of those few singles that remains a favorite even after the entire record’s release. You can feel the layered vocals, around the 3-minute mark, down your spine. Abeles dedicated the song to “Gladys Ramirez, my New York grandmother, who gave me my first home in the city.” Tinged with sweetness and hopeful for better tomorrows, “Crumbs of the Crumbled World” squeezes your hand and reminds you that you deserve it all.
The album features some classically Cab Ellis, jaunty, upbeat songs, too—songs that warrant no annotations, but plenty of energetic feeling. “Taste of Iron,” “State Became a Country,” and the record’s closer “Beat Your Horses Dead” are reminiscent of The East Coast Hold On, promising some unequivocally fun live performances in the future—be it in someone’s basement or at the sold-out Bowery Ballroom.
Cab Ellis remain my favorite agents of chaos. Each of their records delivers something novel, and Cab Ellis is no different. I highly recommend giving the album a listen and feeling for what resonates most with you. I know I am looking forward to another dive in soon.
Until next time.
xoxo,
Lauren
Photo not taken by me <3