Is it just me or is there something sexy going on right now where many of music’s hippest entities are returning to their popular sonic loves of childhood in the 1990s? It seems that so many of my favorite bands of recent years are exploring sounds reminiscent of those to be found on the likes of Club MTV and MTV Jams… sounds that I’m only recently willing to admit are actually quite satisfying… NYC’s Cookies are just one of those bands, and possibly my favorite of the year. At the core of Cookies is Mobius Band co-founder Ben Sterling. They recently released their debut LP, Music For Touching (likely the year’s most literal album title), and this Monday, September 29th, they hit up Johnny Brenda’s, where they upstaged headliners Dawn of Midi. Although they played to a sadly sparse crowd, those in attendance seemed beyond smitten with their blend of delectably campy synth pop and sultry, yet slightly silly, R&B. Cookies proclaim themselves to be “a band from New York City specializing in popular music.” They are certainly that. They are also, certainly, music for touching… And at this point in indie music history, it seems just as subversive to be unapologetically popular as it is to be unapologetically avant-garde. And Cookies would seem to be the definition of unapologetically popular.
