The Carvels NYC at the Bowery Electric

Vocalist Lynne Von first hit the New York City music clubs in the late 1980s with Da Willys, a band that played bluesy, punky rock and roll. Von fronted the Trick Babys in the mid-1990s, formed the Carvels in 1998, and led the Vondells around 2008. She reformed her former band in 2016 as the Carvels NYC, which now includes lead guitarist Brian Morgan, saxophonist Dave Spinley, bassist Mike Dee, and drummer Steve Pang, her husband. The Carvels NYC's debut album, It Wasn't My Idea (to Break Your Heart), was released in 2016, and the band issued its most recent EP, the four-song Life is Not a Waiting Room, in November 2018.

One does not have to wait long for a Carvels NYC gig; the band is playing the circuit regularly these days, perhaps because the band's music is unique on the market now. At the Bowery Electric tonight, each musician demonstrated a commitment to drawing from classic rock and roll styles. Von's vocals gave a husky twist to the mid-1960s girl groups’ genre; Morgan's leads were rooted in 1950s rockabilly; Spinley's wailing sax runs similarly reigned in a vintage rock and roll sound. The songs contrasted unpolished, intensive rock immediacy with sweet, romantic pop hooks. On all counts, the Carvels NYC blasted a striking, gritty garage rock bite with ample room for playfulness.