(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- On Friday, August 18, 2017, Out Like Lambs - an artful Asbury Park band that has evolved from an orchestral folk sound to one rooted in guitar-driven, post-punk Eighties college rock, full of irresistible melodic hooks and intriguing lyrics - will celebrate the release of its new record, Fingers Crossed, with a screening of 14 short films envisioning the album’s 14 songs. The Out Like Lambs screening, to be held on the rooftop of the Asbury Hotel at The Baronet Theatre, will be preceded by live performances by two other notable local bands: Sister Ancestor and The Yams, the latter of which will perform The Minutemen’s classic art-punk double-LP Double Nickels on the Dime of 1984 in its entirety. Tickets for the triple-bill, which starts at 7:00pm, are $10 and include a free vinyl copy of Fingers Crossed (which comes with a digital-download code).
Out Like Lambs features the songwriting duo of vocalist Rachel Hock and guitarist Michael Lucio Sternbach, along with Robert Ryan (guitar), Jon Francis (strings), bassist Adam Vaccarelli (bass) and Neil O’Brien (drums). Guests on the new album include Daughter Vision and Renee Maskin of Lowlight and musicians who have worked with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Jesse Malin, Tony Scherr,and Ike Willis. The group of creative filmmakers who came together out of a sense of Asbury Park community and love for Out Like Lambs to make a video album for Fingers Crossed include Scott Amour, Lindsey Bahr, Chris Bahr, Pud Aylward, Eve & Vin Brue, Emily Casey, Eva & William DeVizia, Nadja Eastmond, Jon Francis, Fredrica Vilardi and Adam Worth, not to mention Sternbach himself. Those who enamored of early R.E.M., The Cure, The Pretenders, The Church and Concrete Blonde - not to mention the richly orchestrated, melancholic strains of the first, eponymous Out Like Lambs album - will love the sound and vision of Fingers Crossed.
“We wanted to celebrate the completion of the album with a party, but do it in a different way than just play a gig,” Sternbach says. “We realized that the writing and recording process is our favorite part of being in a band, so why not emphasize that in a creative way - visually. I’m a filmmaker and know other filmmakers, so we decided on a video analog to Fingers Crossed, kind of like that Beyoncé album with a different film by a different filmmaker for every song on the record but with no budget, just talented friends pitching in for free out of a love for the project. I really think this helps underscore the sense of creative community Asbury Park.”
Hock and Sternbach originally banded together in 2008, two amateur musicians with restless creative spirits, out of a shared love of blues, folk, punk and jazz. They made home recordings and eventually attracted a circle of Asbury Park musicians who heard something special in their sound. “Fingers Crossed” is the first Out Like Lambs release since their self-titled 10”vinyl release. In the process of writing new songs, the pair developed a new sound - more outgoing, more rock, but still steeped in the atmospheric melancholy conveyed by Sternbach’s pensive, chiming chords and the grain of Hock’s individual, unforgettable voice. Throughout the years, the Out Like Lambs collective has shared stages with the likes of Jack Rose, Joan of Arc, Viking Moses, Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone and Daniel Higgs. Reviewing the first album by Out Like Lambs, bloggers compared the sound to the likes of Spirit of Eden-era Talk Talk and Fairport Convention.
Out Like Lambs recorded Fingers Crossed in Asbury Park at Sternbach’s apartment, as well as at Retromedia Sound Studios in Red Bank. “Along with Robert, Jon, Adam and Neil, we had more than 10 other old and new friends playing on the record, including electro weirdos Daughter Vision, Tommy LaBella on saxophone and backing vocals by the likes of Michelle Casillas and Renée Maskin from Lowlight,” Sternbach explains. “But the sound revolves around the songs Rachel and I write — and her one-of-a-kind singing. People are always commenting on her voice, as it’s this smoky, aching, mysterious thing that takes you by surprise. I love it.”
About local band The Yams playing The Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime before the screening, Sternbach says: “The Minutemen were one of the bands that Rachel and I bonded over when we first got together. A couple summers ago, we witnessed The Yams play Double Nickels start to finish — and we were totally floored. Dinosaur Jr., who were labelmates on SST with The Minutemen back in the day, happened to be in town performing and ended up stumbling upon the show. Dinosaur Jr. singer-guitarist J Mascis watched from the back, but bassist Lou Barlow got right up front and was headbanging through the whole set, which was so cool. It was an amazing, nostalgic night for everyone who was there, and we wanted to experience it again. Especially given its political poignancy. We hope everyone comes out to hear and see our new album and gets to see these other cool Asbury Park bands play, too. It’s going to be a fun night.”
Schedule: 7pm: Doors Sister Ancestor; 7:30pm: The Yams play The Minutemen; 8:30pm: screening of Fingers Crossed by Out Like Lambs 10pm
The Baronet at The Asbury is located at 210 5th Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
