Congratulations to New Faces! On March 1, the Port Townsend trio were crowned champions of Sound Off!, EMP's annual underage battle of the bands, beating out the almost 200 bands who submitted demos. After a month of tournament-style battles, the field of 12 semifinalists narrowed down to three—New Faces, Man Down Medic, and the Nextdoor Neighbors.
The panel of judges gave New Faces the highest score in categories such as creativity, musicianship, and crowd response. They were also the audience favorite for the night (which earned them two free days of studio time at the Vera Project).
New Faces walked away with a bunch of highly coveted prizes including production on one song by Glenn Lorbecki, a $600 gift certificate for studio time at Soundhouse Studio, a guitar and amp from Gibson, an on-air performance on KEXP's local show, Audioasis, and a slot at this year's Bumbershoot festival.
Even before they took the win, though, the band were doing okay for themselves—they have upcoming shows at Neumo's and the Comet (both are 21+, unfortunately), and this week they're headlining Chop Suey's renowned 18+ party Club Pop.
New Faces are the perfect match for the night's usual dance-happy crowd. Layers of staccato guitar drive the trio's Interpol-inspired dance rock, along with Nico Janssen's crooning baritone vocals. The quick pulse of songs such as "She's Like the Snow" and "Ms. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" will have the Club Pop crowd shaking its hips, and the band's mellower moments, like "You to Me," will have it grooving to a more smoky, sexy vibe. Club Pop is just the beginning of their busy spring, with performances already booked at Neumo's and the Comet. You'll no doubt be hearing about this band for a while.
There really aren't any losers here, though. The other Sound Off! finalists, Olympia's the Nextdoor Neighbors and Seattle's Man Down Medic, who took second and third respectively, were gifted with some pretty great prizes, too. The Nextdoor Neighbors won a spot at this year's Folklife and an appearance on an upcoming episode of 107.7 The End's The Young & the Restless. Both runners-up also receive gear and studio time.
You can see New Faces on Thursday, March 13, at Chop Suey with another band that brings the good times, Birdwatchers United, along with resident DJs Colby B and Glitterpants. It's 18+ and costs only $8 if you get there before 11:00 p.m. ($10 after).
