Joe Michelini and Nicole Scorsone of River City Extension, which debuted songs from its new album, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger," at Maxwell's in Hoboken on Wednesday.“Point of Surrender,” from River City Extension’s new album “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger,” opens with a back porch singalong slowly emerging from a din of industrial noise. It’s the perfect metaphor for how this ambitious folk/rock ensemble — fueled by the sounds of finger-plucked banjo, sawing fiddle, barrelhouse electric piano and gang harmonies — has risen from the depths of the New Jersey rock underground to the brink of national prominence in just a few short years.
On Wednesday, the Toms River-based octet kicked off a national tour with an electrifying performance at Maxwell’s in Hoboken that introduced the packed house to the new album, which will be released Tuesday by XOXO Records. (The label helped launch the career of New Brunswick’s the Gaslight Anthem a few years ago.) The tour will include a gig at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan on July 21.
Any discussion of River City Extension begins with Joe Michelini, the group’s charismatic lead singer and guitarist, who echoes both the vulnerability of Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and the frat-party exuberance of the young Bruce Springsteen. While River City Extension honed its craft in the bars and nightclubs of Asbury Park, the Maxwell’s crowd skewed heavily toward moony-eyed teens, and one suspects that much of the band’s appeal stems from the romantic tumult of Michelini’s lyrics. (Given that Hoboken isn’t the group’s home turf, it’s also impressive that the show sold out a week in advance.)
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger” is a much darker and more introspective album than its predecessor, “The Unmistakable Man,” full of confessions, regret and apologies. Much of the Maxwell’s audience listened with rapt attention, experiencing the lyrics for the first time.
The jaunty trumpet melody and slapback percussion of “If You Need Me Back in Brooklyn” felt like the soundtrack to a travelogue, until the counterpoint vocals (by Michelini and banjo player Samantha Tacon) turned the song into a sparring match of bruised feelings and recriminations. On a lighter note, “Welcome to Pittsburgh” buoyed the set with power-pop “ooo-ooo-ooo’s” and Dan Melius’ signature mariachi trumpet. Another standout track spotlighted Nicole Scorsone’s violin as she accompanied Michelini on the Dylanesque “Standing Outside a Southern Riot.”
Some old favorites — including “Nautical Sabbatical,” from River City Extension’s first EP — reminded everyone that the band’s music might, at its heart, be called folk music, but it’s folk music you can dance to. Drummer Mike Costaney powered the fast songs with booming Gene Krupa-esque beats but could temper his brush strokes down to a whisper when called for.
For the encores, Michelini returned to the stage, sweaty and shirtless, to lead the band through a triumphant singalong version of “Something Salty, Something Sweet.” Then, addressing the crowd for one of the few times in the night, he explained that he and the band wanted to give their fans something special on this tour, and would play “Waiting in the Airport” — the elegiac country waltz that ends “The Unmistakable Man” — live, for the first time. It seemed as if everyone knew all the words, singing “the clocks are all sugar and the minutes, they move like molasses.” At that moment, River City Extension made time stand still.
River City Extension
Year formed: 2007
Hometown: Toms River
Members: Joe Michelini (guitar, vocals), Mike Costaney (drums, percussion), Nick Cucci (guitars, vocals), Dan Melius (trumpet, melophone, mandolin, vocals), Patrick O’Brien (piano, organ), James Ramirez (bass, banjo), Nicole Scorsone (violin, vocals), Samantha Tacon (vocals, banjo). Benjamin Anderson is playing bass on this tour.
Essential records: “The Unmistakable Man” (2010), “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger” (2012)
Recommended if you like: Wilco, Neil Young, Olivia Tremor Control