CMW Review: Nightbox

These guys. These guys are dangerous. Nightbox, who played a late night show at Wrongbar on Saturday, are definitely the most charismatic group I’ve seen play all week.  And that’s saying something. We rolled into the set from seeing The Balconies earlier in the night, whose presence is massive. But where The Balconies use their powers to play with the audience and bring them into the Balconies world, Nightbox uses their powers to own them.

Since the band was first covered by OTMzine over a year ago, they’ve garnered a fair bit of attention and have worked with the likes of MSTRKRFT and Death From Above 1979. They’re a group of 5 dashing Irish/Canadian elctro pop dance rockers, with sounds comparable to bands Hot Chip, MGMT, Cut Copy and even the Bravery. Think thumping drum-beats, catchy and permeating synth, and 1980s style bass riffs on overdrive. Taken together with their guitar, they’ve got a sound that really successfully gets people dancing. It’s embarrassing not to dance. And let’s face it – in Toronto that’s pretty tough to do.

Wrongbar turned out to be a really good venue for Nightbox. The acoustics and lighting did them justice, and it was small enough to pack people together and get them dancing – a lot. Word is, they’re working on their first full length album. We can’t wait to hear.

Photos by Andrew Weir