Lord Classic at the Bowery Electric

The Brooklyn-based Lord Classic is comprised of guitarist Pauly J, bassist Mattley Mountain and drummer Mossy Ross. At club dates in Brooklyn and Manhattan, J and Mountain wear centuries-old military outfits and Ross wears an Antoinette dress. Much more than that about the band is unknown, unless you believe the band’s entertaining but fable-like colonial-era-inspired biography.

At the Bowery Electric tonight, it took only a moment to work past Lord Classic’s colorful wardrobe to hear some pretty interesting music. It is easier to describe what the music was not rather than what it was. There was no electronic filler, no floor full of electronic distortion devices, and no wall of sound. The music was built around basic pop melodies driven by a strong bass line, enhanced by staccato guitar riffs, with ratatat drums filling in all the hollows. Bare bones garage band rock, sparse rather than noisy, it leaned in the opposite direction of today’s indie trend. Lord Classic’s music seemed one step beyond grunge or, since the band’s outfits inspire us to fabricated history, maybe it can pass for grunge’s fictitious prequel.