On the way down to meet up with Andrew W.K. and start filming our massive CMJ party exposé, we swung in to Pianos to say hi to BV and check in with the assemblage of talent he stitched together. Worked out to be a quick study in extremes: Upstairs we took in the gorgeous, hushed tones of Sparrow House (aka Jared Van Fleet of Voxtrot), and a few minutes later downstairs we had our faces pulverized by “club-punk” trio TheDeathSet. Jared was sat on a stool, experimenting with a sampler and loop to flesh out his live sound, while TheDeathSet were set up in a circle, facing each other, on the floor in front of the stage. Upstairs/downstairs. Quiet/riot. After a few bloody marys we were off to party with W.K., but thanks to Sparrow House and TheDeathSet for suiting our ADD-addled CMJ showgoing. Take some MP3s to recreate the polar goodness.

• Sparrow House – “You Sang Alone”Download

• Sparrow House – “When I Am Gone”Download

• TheDeathSet – “Intermission”Download