Of all the great records that I got from If You Make It in the last couple years, the debut record from The State Lottery was definitely one of the best. Cities We're Not From was a great slice of post-college indie rock based in rock of the classic variety, but in an entirely genuine fashion. The mixed gender franchise knocked it out of the park. The new record, When The Night Comes (which I'm ashamed to find escaped my radar when it came out last fucking Fall), ups the horn, and by proxy Springsteen, factor in the proceedings. Niki McUmber wields the brass for The State Lottery and kills pretty much every track she blows on. I'm pretty sure she's the female on Future Selves, and if that is the case, she may very well be MVP of the franchise. And what a franchise it is. The Springsteen seed has grown anew in the gardens of The Hold Steady and Jason Anderson in recent history with good results. There is the companion hackneyed minstrel crap like The Asslight Anthem, but most of those that have drank of the Bruce juice have done so in a pleasing fashion. When TSL aren't making the big rock ala Springsteen and keep the horn at bay, they rock in a pleasant The Riot Before meets Superchunk sort of way that is pretty top-notch. I blew it and missed their set last week, but while you are taking the time to grab When The Night Comes over at If You Make It, check out the live footage from the Ridgewood show. Maybe think about dropping some coin for their good works. You can get vinyl over at Salinas. As the band members are spread to the four corner of the US, I would expect future shows are going to be scarce, but keep an eye here at the TSL web presence and hope they get back on the road or in the studio soon.
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