We came up with the nominations, you came up with the winners. But what about the blogs, man? Don't they get a say? They sure do. The Phoenix enlisted the six blogs nominated for Boston's Best Music Blog in our Best '11 issue — a poll won by live-series production team Sleepover Shows — and asked each to spotlight a band they felt was snubbed in the Best Music Poll. The result is a nice forecast for the year ahead — and no doubt these acts will be all over next year's ballot.
BAND: CUFFS
BLOG: BRADLEY'S ALMANAC
It takes no small amount of gumption to intentionally break up your band in the wake of its best work, but after a seven-year run, that's just what singer/guitarist Andrew Churchman did a year ago with brilliant Boston pop trio Pants Yell! "There's a lot to be said in knowing when to leave the party at the right time," he wrote on their blog, and so their 2009 Received Pronunciation LP became expertly crafted exit music. Churchman gave fans little time for post-party pouting though, as he and drummer Casey Keenan recruited guitarist Martin Pavlinic of Reports and Big Troubles bassist Ian Drennan to emerge last autumn as Cuffs. Promising home demos were shared, intimate shows were played, and here we are just a year into the post-Pants Yell! era with Cuffs' first officially released recordings: the "Privilege" 7-inch on local imprint Ride the Snake. Based on live sets and the two wax-bound tracks, Churchman's desire for a fresh start makes sense — his understated, mostly melancholy vocal style remains, but Pavlinic's added guitar gives more intricacy and oomph to the proceedings. On the pop-to-rock scale, the Cuffs' needle leans far more in the rock direction, and we'll soon find out if an already-recorded sophomore 7-inch follows suit.
Brad Searles
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