Premiere: New Song from The Brixton Riot. Album out 10/6. Release Party 11/3.

The Brixton Riot by Bryan Sargent

"Move On"

Tomorrow will mark two years since Asbury Lanes closed. Maxwell's in Hoboken disappeared, as we knew it, over four years ago. I still find myself talking with people about how much we lost when we lost those spaces. The bands that came through those venues, the communities that grew there. Attending shows at places like Maxwell's or Asbury Lanes is a much different, more communal experience than what you get at some corporate-run venue where burly guys in black T-shirts with "SECURITY" printed in block letters on the back begin hustling you out as soon as the final chord of the night has died away.

I try not to fall into the nostalgia trap, though. I've said before that it wasn't just the four walls that made these places great. It was what went on inside. It was the people who made up the community. When one place goes down, it's incumbent upon all of us to try and find another place to make memories.

One of the people I know I've had this very conversation with is Jerry Lardieri of The Brixton Riot. We like lots of the same music. We have lots of the same feelings about these types of things. With "Move On," the second single from The Brixton Riot's forthcoming Close Counts, the band -- which also includes Mark Wright (guitar), Steve Hass (bass), and Matt Horutz (drums) -- deal with all of this. Lardieri calls "Move On" a "love letter to Maxwell's and Asbury Lanes." The song captures the feeling of loss that comes with the closure a venue that felt like your clubhouse, but it also makes the point that we all have to -- however reluctantly -- move on.

Guitarist Mark Wright adds, "Places to hear and perform live original music have been disappearing steadily over the last few years. Expressing our disappointment makes its way into our songs, like 'Ocean Ave.' on Palace Amusements and 'Move On' on Close Counts."

J. Robbins of DC's Jawbox produced Close Counts, and it's clear from the sound of "Move On" that The Brixton Riot spent a lot of time listening to the types of bands who put small, independent clubs on the map over the years. The song is power pop that draws heavily from Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Guided By Voices, and even Ted Leo.



Close Counts is due from Mint 400 Records this Friday, October 6th. Then you've got about a month to digest it before The Brixton Riot celebrate the album's release with a party at Asbury Park Yacht Club on November 3rd. That one also features Dentist and The RockNRoll HiFives, and it's brought to you by yours truly.