Words: Jonathan “Kos” Kosakow

Each year, the CMJ Music Marathon descends upon New York City for five days in October. For bands, it is a chance to be discovered. For journalists, bloggers, photographers and the recording industry, it is an opportunity to stumble upon the next big thing. And for the fans, it is a chance to discover new music, a chance to witness the origins of a band, and perhaps more importantly, a chance to run around New York City for five days without a plan or a clue as to what they will find.

There is no “right” way to get through CMJ. Of the almost 1,100 musical acts who performed over the five days at this year’s marathon, even those fans heavily immersed in the music scene were familiar with only a small percentage. Some choose to see only the bands they already know and are familiar with. Some choose to pick a venue and stick with it for an entire evening. Others choose to pick bands based on their names, and still others just go to an area with the highest concentration of shows (generally the Lower East Side of Manhattan), and bounce around between venues. But no matter what method you choose, you are bound to find something you love, something you hate, or something completely weird.

As I am just one man, I was only able to see a (very, very, very) small percentage of the music played. But of the bands I was able to see, here are my recommendations.

These United States bring a sound similar to a combination of The Black Crowes and The Band, with vocals slightly reminiscent of the Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz. Comparisons aside, this quintet had a sound too big for Piano’s, the small bar that played host that evening. By adding a steel pedal guitar to the classic southern rock, they are allowed much greater diversity of sound and can bring in many more influences. And that may be their only true drawback – the lack of a definitive sound. Give them a little bit more time to find their true sound, though, and I’d put some money on seeing these guys in much larger venues.

READ ON for more of Jonathan’s recommendations…

Brooklyn’s Clare & The Reasons, who refer to themselves as “chamber pop,” are some of my favorite new musicians on the scene today.  Clare Muldaur Manchon and husband/musical collaborator Olivier Manchon write intricate pieces for a small band capable of playing a host of instruments.

Guitar, violin, bass, piano, tuba, trombone, even a glockenspiel and a recorder make their way into each show.  Clare’s voice, perhaps a mousier version of Billie Holiday, is what really sticks out, though.  Give her two notes and you’ll be hooked.

Even though punk and dance beats are culturally and musically exact opposites, Bang Bang Eche has found a way to combine them.  With the oldest member only twenty years old, these kids rocked, and rocked hard.I’m generally not a big fan of punk, and to be honest my heart sank when this group of teenagers got on stage and lit up some disturbingly distorted guitar.  But only two songs in and I was already a fan.

Between songs, T’Nealle Worsley and his bandmates yelled across stage as if it were part of the show, still unsure of what they’d play. “Should we do this one?” “Yeah, we might as well!”  And that’s when the mayhem began.

The technically proficient Motel Motel could immediately be described as indie-rock, but there music is much more than that.  Good indie-rock these days, as I see it, takes from all the best bands of the past few decades, and that is exactly what Motel Motel does, without sounding any bit too much like any single band – a little bit country, a little bit folk, and a lot Rock & Roll.  It’s many old sounds with a new twist.

An Honorable Mention also goes to the self-described psychadelic, ghettotech, melodramatic pop of Warpaint, the 11-piece rock orchestra known as Emmanuel and the Fear, and Annie & the Beekeepers, whose quiet trio of acoustic country-folk held strong against what could have been a show-halting dance beat on the other side of the venue’s wall.