Manhattan [Audio CD] SKATERS

2014 release from the Alt-Rock trio. When it came time to record their Warner Bros. debut, the band looked directly to its hometown for inspiration. Manhattan is more than an album -it's a statement of purpose and a portrait of life in New York City. "We were all bartenders, so the songs are tales of experiences we had or saw, and other people who were characters in our life during the first year we were in this band," Cummings says. The album kicks off with subway noises, "Because that's the sound of our lives," Cummings says. The disc was even recorded by John Hill (Santigold, Wavves) in the API room at Greenwich Village's iconic Electric Lady Studios, named after its one-of-a-kind board. Manhattan features other little pieces of the city, too, in the form of sounds and conversations Hubbard nabbed on an old-school handheld tape recorder.