Bellevue’s Finest will be playing a Friday-night residency at Arlene’s Grocery this month
Arlene’s Grocery
95 Stanton St. between Orchard & Ludlow Sts.
Friday, April 8, 22, 29, $10, 9:00
212-358-1633
www.myspace.com/bellevuesfinestnyc
www.arlenesgrocery.net
Mixing ’70s-era Bowie glam rock and Ian Dury punk with the 1980s postpunk of PIL and the more recent electronic sounds of Hot Chip and Passion Pit, New York City band Bellevue’s Finest is an idealistic sextet that knows what it wants. “I don’t wannabe wanna be a wannabe,” vocalist Frans Mernick sings on the ridiculously catchy chorus of “Wannabe,” the opening song from their November 2010 eponymous EP, the follow-up to October 2008’s five-track 10010. (Both albums can be downloaded for free here.) The electro-pop band, which includes Adam J. Sontag and David Haken on synthesizers, David Fell on guitar, David Glickstein on bass, and Orlando Trevino on drums, adds a psychedelic touch to “Echo on My Mind” and begins “Homies on My Block” with a “Psycho Killer” riff that eventually leads to a surprise doo-wop ending. On the new EP’s closing track, “In My Dreams (ur texting me),” Mernick sings, “When I got home / frequently checked my phone / hoping for a LOL or OMG / But FML / vibration never felt / The pockets in my jeans are lifeless / hope she’ll BRB.” The new EP features a more mature sound than 10010, though the earlier EP is a heckuva lot of fun, with such crazy rave-ups as “Hey! Take These Pills,” “Hipsters,” and “Unpredictable You,” while Mernick channels Johnny Lydon on “Nakedbounce” and “So Eloquent.” Bellevue’s Finest will be playing a three-week Friday-night residency at Arlene’s Grocery this month, taking the stage at 9:00 on April 8, 22, and 29, so you have no excuse to miss them.