Caveman Obsessed with Being a New York Band

From the Velvet Underground to the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, New York City has always been ground zero for the coolest bands around.

Atmospheric homegrown five-piece Caveman might be next on that list. Although Matthew Iwanusa (vocals), Jimmy Carbonetti (guitar), Stefan Marolachakis (drums), Sam Hopkins (synths) and Jeff Berrall (bass) lack the Ramones' matching leather jackets and the Strokes' hip haircuts, the band's Midlake-as-filtered-through-Creations Records sound feels effortlessly modern. Just as importantly, they're genuine real-deal New Yorkers.

"We're actually from here," drummer Stefan Marolachakis tells Spinner. "So being from here it's actually exciting being labeled a New York or Brooklyn band. We recently headlined Bowery Ballroom. I've never done that with any band. And there's certain benchmark New York moments that feel really wonderful.

"For me, it's basically all positive. We're kind of obsessed with our hometown. We basically spend a lot of our days walking around trying to soak it up, trying to see as much as possible. I've lived here my whole life so it's really exciting. And the response we've been getting from our hometown its really lovely."

That 'response' would be for the shimmering, moody vibe showcased on Caveman's debut album, CoCo Beware. Caveman have two aces in this regard -- Jimmy Carbonetti actually custom-makes the band's guitars, and Matthew Iwanusa is a lapsed drummer who adds extra layers of percussion to each song. The result, particularly during the band's live shows, is a unique wall of sound that elevates them beyond standard shoegaze-y outfits.

Marolachakis figures the extra drummer is a bonus.

"The greatest thing with the whole process of this band is me being surrounded in the room with at least one other drummer who I deeply respect. And for recording, it's at least two or three because Matt, who's our singer, is one of my favourite drummers in the world, and Nick [Stumpf, producer] who's the singer and the drummer in French Kicks, is one of my favourite drummers, too. And it's great because a lot of songs Matt plays drums live as well. So he plays percussion, I'm drumming, and it makes more of a groove to our songs."