The New Limb Last Night at Detroit Bar

The Show: Listening to The New Limb's brooding piano-infused pop rock, it's hard to shake the feeling I've heard these guys somewhere before. Then it dawns on me: Maritime, the Milwaukee-based group featuring former Promise Ring singer Davey von Bohlen bears some remarkable parallels to the Costa Mesa band which played Detroit Bar last night. I haven't seen the former, and I'm being paid to write about the latter, so here we go. Last night's show was a homecoming of sorts for The New Limb, who've been on the road since releasing their debut album, Sounds People Can Hear, last spring. If you've spent any time reading Heard Mentality (it's OK, we know you have), you're aware  the band has been doing some guest writing for us, chronicling their many adventures on the road–which include getting offers of free drugs from fans as well as the dreaded on-tour car burglary. 

​Last night's show was a shot at redemption for these prodigal OC musicians. Despite the fact they kept the set short–around seven songs–the quartet managed to turn in a performance that was tight, impassioned and energetic. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something in the delivery of their jams exhibited a distinctive lack of pretension mixed with genuine hunger to produce something meaningful. 

The second song of the evening–crowd favorite “Birds and Stuff,” featured the lyrics ”