speed of dark

The Cheat might be the best band I've found through myspace yet. Sam Alexander, Stephen Edelstein, Jesse Nolan, and Keith Patterson met while attending UC Berkeley, but now call Los Angeles home. I contacted the band after devouring the three songs they have available on their website and nearly sobbed when I saw that I had missed their show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood back in October. Thankfully I see that they've got another show planned in February.

The Cheat list Radiohead, Interpol, Pixies, Talking Heads, The Beatles, and Nirvana as influences (all favorites of mine) and explain that their varied taste in music gives them their own unique sound. I have to agree - one of the best things about the three tracks available on their myspace page is that the songs all sound very different from each other, and more original than other music being released today. It's evident from the band members' favorite albums of 2006, which include Joanna Newsom, TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, The Rapture, Grizzly Bear, Lupe Fiasco, and The Knife, and their all-time favorites, like Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Q and Not U, and Aphex Twin, that their sound has a strong and diverse background from which to emerge.

The band toured back in 2005 with blog favorites squirrel vs. bear and continue to play shows in the L.A. area every month or so, and will appear at the Troubadour on February 11. Click here for more information on the show.

Check out these songs from their EP, Drunk With Power, released in late 2006. These three tracks are available on their myspace page, and you can stream their first self-titled EP on their website. For now, the band is looking to do some touring and are working on a video for the great song "Diet Coke at the Gap". Thanks guys, for being so nice and making excellent music. See you in February!

the cheat: diet coke at the gap

the cheat: sooner or later

the cheat: not so bad

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