Where they’ve been: We profiled this NYC five-piece last April (we’re early adopters!) as they were working on their debut album. Well, that debut, titled “Manhattan” will finally be released Feb. 25 on Warner Brothers.
Where they’re going: You know how every 10 years or so a band comes along that makes people remember that rock ‘n’ roll can still be a vital life force? Skaters are the next band to do that. On “Manhattan,” they mix the energetic, clean guitar and city ‘tude of the Strokes’ debut with the type of dub that The Clash dabbled in. While listening to the album it feels like you’re actually hearing a brand new band in the process of bonding. “This band formed in a kind of strange, rapid, organic fashion,” says singer Michael Ian Cummings. “Literally, the band was formed in a night, we booked three shows the next morning and then we had to write a bunch of songs. We were signed to Warner, like, eight months later.” We have a feeling their rise to prominence will be just as quick.
