On the Brink of Overnight Obscurity
THE NUEVOS
(thenuevos.com)
The brainchild of area music vets Kreg Sterns and Kim Collister (Aenone, Nyack, Fork), The Nuevos' debut is a slice of superbly-crafted '90s-era indie-rock. "Hope & IVs" and "Carsick" are melodic, fleshy power-pop, as is the aptly spacey "Astronaut on Earth" and the driving "Ghosts, Planes, Files." The disc benefits from uniformly excellent production — polished, but never slick. Singer/songwriter Sterns, bassist Collister, guitarist Matt Osterhoudt and drummer Vinnie Cosentino have made an album that's dated but strangely fresh. Check out the cover of seminal Mazzy Star's '90s hit "Fade Into You" through a spot-on "Just Like Heaven" Cure filter. Brink doesn't feel local — and shouldn't be. 3.5 stars
