Hot Damn, this band is sweet: The Damnwells

The Damnwells

Friday, 9 p.m.

Club Cafe, $8, 21+

(412) 431-4950

I feel a bit… The Damnwells

Friday, 9 p.m.

Club Cafe, $8, 21+

(412) 431-4950

I feel a bit nostalgic around wintertime. I watch cheesy ’80s movies, listen to sappy music and indulge in the fact that I hate Valentine’s Day – if only there were more to do.

Well now there is, because I can enjoy my nostalgia on Valentine’s Day not only with a band that will bring out in me the silly and carefree fun-loving kid I once was, but in others as well. This Friday, The Damnwells hit up Club Cafe to put a smile on everyone’s face and rock out.

The four-piece band hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., with a sound as revolutionary as its name. Distorted basslines, infectiously catchy lyrics, and smoothly sassy vocals encompass its newest EP-that-is-not-really-an-EP, PMR + 1. In the liner notes, it’s dubbed a “poor man’s record” and not an EP.

One could only assume that with such a name, their music would be full of angst and punishing rock. But that’s where I was surprised, just as you all will be. The lyrics are beautifully crafted, with memorable bits and pieces such as, “I might stay up all night/ or fall in love or tell a lie.” The best way to describe them would probably have to be “optimistically smart rock.” It’s hard to describe the tempo, as it cascades from a slow-dance pace to some particularly upbeat (but not too fast) songs that will make you smirk in your denim jackets and dungarees.

The Damnwells are currently on tour throughout the country with ’80s sensations Cheap Trick, but will play sans Cheap Trick at the Pittsburgh show this weekend. It looks to be a fun show, with plenty of rock ‘n’ roll crooning and slick flow that would remind you of how much fun growing up in the ’80s really was. There’s a lot of talent brimming from the caps of these young fellows, and it would be a travesty to miss this show.