Black Gold | Mercury Lounge

2009's Toto?

Eric Ronick and Than Luu are hired guns who have logged time as touring musicians and session players for a who’s who of modern rock: Panic at the Disco, the Killers, Rachel Yamagata, M. Ward, Ambulance LTD. Their first single as Black Gold, “Detroit,” racked up over 400,000 downloads when it was chosen as an iTunes Single of the Week last October. The duo's diverse musical backgrounds make their debut album “Rush” an eclectic listen; their sound canvases every corner of the modern rock omniverse, from synth-heavy dance-punk (“Detroit”) to emo-tinged rockers (“Plans & Reveries”) to disco-fied glam rock (“The Comedown”). What holds it all together is the quality of the duo’s songwriting; like their fello pop-rock pastiche artists the Killers and PATD, Ronick and Luu know how to craft a good hook and dress it up in style. With Lydia.

More concert photos: Lilly Allen at Bowery Ballroom | Cold War Kids at Mercury Lounge | Animal Collective at Bowery Ballroom | Matt & Kim at Music Hall of Williamsburg