If anyone had told me that the band who took the stage at last weekend’s Treasure Island Musical Festival under the noon sun had never played a festival before – and only a handful of shows of any kind – I would have likely yelled “Impossible!” and put down fifty bucks (that I don’t have) on them lying. There was no way; Brodie Jenkins sang with the authority and confidence of a master diva while Johnny Hwin’s guitar alternately churned, sang and murmured effortlessly and percussionist Mitchell Wilcox pounded his kit with virtuosic vigor; these were indisputably seasoned pros.
But if someone had taken that bet, I would have been out approximately dinner for one at Chez Panisse… or a lot of shumai and pot stickers from Delicious Dim Sum on Jackson and Stockton. Because it was indeed true: San Francisco’s Cathedrals are a very young band, even if they don’t show it for an instant.
Their self-titled EP, released last month on Neon Gold Records, shares the energy of their live performance but with added tricks and twists. On opening track “Harlem,” Jenkins’ layered voice snakes over and under itself, a pitter-patter of percussion opens into a gallop and Hwin takes the song to its highest peak with a pounding riff. In between are about three hundred hooks to help you get through this Monday morning. Listen to “Harlem,” and the rest of the Cathedrals EP, below.
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